Title: Legally Blond

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

Rating: T

Words (Chapter 14): 2,180

Author's Notes: I recently realized how many hits this fic has and I'm in like. Shock. About 2,800 on and about 900 on AO3. You guys are awesome, the stats of this make me so proud! Thank you so much! This next chapter took me quite a while to write, I'm sorry. Midterms season had me pulling my hair out and now I'm dealing with final papers and all! (I didn't even get to write anything for Seto's birthday/Halloween.)

Joey's POV:

The next day, we had our meeting with Mai. That in and of itself wouldn't have been intimidating, partly due to the fact that despite her success, my memories of her were all fond, but where we were going made it so much more so.

Apparently, the judge had deemed she wasn't too much of a flight risk, so she was given a doable bail amount. She was under strict house arrest though, ankle monitor and all, so we had to go visit her at the Magnum Manor. In a way, I was grateful we didn't have to all go to a prison to see her, but at the same time…It was Magnum Manor.

I'd never seen any manor before, never mind enter one that had belonged to either a friend of mine or a movie star. Domino wasn't all poor people in crappy buildings but it was completely urban – the well-off people who resided in my city usually lived in tall high-rises with views of the water that made it look almost as if the average citizen of Domino City weren't struggling.

"This is creepy," Duke said as we neared the front door. Pegasus ignored him and rang the doorbell. An elderly butler came to the door, took one look at Pegasus, and immediately stepped aside.

"The mistress will be with you shortly. I'll let her know you've arrived." The butler bowed and I looked around. Most of my companions looked completely at ease with the butler and I realized again how out of place I probably was.

"Does anyone else feel like we're going to die?" Rebecca whispered and I rolled my eyes.

"I can't believe they even let her come back here. It's technically a crime scene still, isn't it?" Mahad asked, looking around.

"Lifestyles of the rich and the famous," I muttered. No one responded and I wondered if they'd even heard. I wasn't wrong, though. When you're rich and accused of a crime, you're treated a lot differently than if you were poor.

"This is so creepy," Duke repeated. "I mean, he died in this house. We could be standing in the very spot he bled out."

"Honestly, Duke, did you even read the case file?" Téa asked with a huff. "He was killed in the greenhouse."

"Yes, and me keeping far away from that area is part of my bail," a commanding voice spoke, and we all looked up to see Mai basically floating down the grand staircase.

She looked lovely and regal as ever. Her ankle monitor was covered by a maxi dress and you would never even know she was grieving over a late husband or facing the murder charge for killing him. The only hints you could notice were that she was in all black, and that her eyes looked like they hadn't gotten sleep in a while, and that they were very recently crying.

"Welcome to my not so humble abode, or at least, it's mine for now. I'm Mai Valentine and I assume you are all here to defend me in court, not get the grand tour, so we'll just head into the dining room. Sebastian will be bringing us coffee, if you'd like tea or a specialty drink, please ask him nicely." She motioned to the butler next to her before leading us to the room adjoining the foyer. Pegasus asked Sebastian for tea and Téa asked for soy milk in hers (I'd learned from our trip to get coffee that she was lactose intolerant) but the rest of us followed along silently.

We all sat down around the table, but before I could, Mai grabbed my arm. "I know you." She said it as a statement, but her eyes were questioning.

"Joey Wheeler," I answered with a smile. "From –"

"Domino. Holy crap. I never thought you'd become one of my lawyers. We'll catch up one day, alright?" She hugged me before dragging my arm, sitting at the edge of the table but leaving the head seat open, and pushing me into the chair next to her.

Téa sat down next to me and a moment later, Sebastian came back with the tray. As he handed out the coffees, I noticed with distaste that Duke didn't thank him until Téa elbowed him in the side.

I was really glad I befriended this girl after all.

When we were all situated, Pegasus had Mai go through the story of what happened when she found her husband's body.

"Where were you when he died?"

"Not here."

"Okay, but where were you?"

"Out."

"Can anyone confirm you were out?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"The people who I saw when I was out."

"Who were they?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Where were you?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Was there video proof of you being there?"

"Yes."

"So, where were you?"

"I'm not telling you."

Pegasus sighed and sat down across from Mai, putting his head in his hands. "So, you have an alibi and you're still refusing to give it to me."

"Yes, exactly."

I almost felt bad for Pegasus and almost found it funny. "Why?"

"Because I just can't tell you. Can't you just win without it?"

"It'd be a lot easier with it. But fine, whatever. Rebecca, what's the next step to proving a client innocent?"

"Dismantle the motive and introduce a new suspect."

"Good. Now, Mai. They're saying you had an affair."

"Lies."

"Great. Do you have proof?" Duke asked.

"How does one give proof that they didn't sleep with someone?" Mahad asked.

"Ask Duke, he's an expert on that." The words left my mouth before I could think them through, and I cleared my throat when everyone looked at me. "Never mind," I mumbled, glancing awkwardly at Téa.

Pegasus ignored us, looking back at Mai. "The jury is going to wonder why you were with a man so much older than you," he added.

"Show them a picture of his dick, that ought to clear things up."

My eyes widened, hiding a laugh behind my hand. Mahad's eyes widened and he looked down at the file in his hands to hide it and Téa was giggling into her coffee mug. Kaiba had rolled his eyes and Pegasus pretended he didn't hear her. Duke had made a face but Rebecca was eagerly typing into her phone.

"Ninja Warrior Part Three," she said, and all eyes turned to her. She looked up at us and shrugged. "There was a full-frontal nudity scene. In case we were actually going to—"

"We are not showing the jury pictures of the victim's genitals," Kaiba answered in a deadpan voice. "Or a video," he continued when she opened her mouth again.

Mai had a smirk on her face while Téa and I continued to try not to giggle too loud.

Rebecca shrugged. "Well, would anyone here like to see?" She looked at me and Téa, knowing by now that we were both into guys.

"I've seen it, thanks," I said with a small laugh, looking over at Mai who winked.

"Me too, actually," Téa admitted, blushing.

"Seriously, you two?" Duke asked, scrunching up his nose. "He was fifty! He was old!"

"Technically, when that one came out, he was only forty-five," Téa defended.

"Yeah, and you wish you'd look even half that good at fifty," I added.

Duke looked affronted but before he could reply, Kaiba cleared his throat. "Are you all finished? We do have a task at hand here."

"Oh, relax, hon, they're all just having a little fun. Lighten up," Mai responded.

"My interns are supposed to be helping you beat a murder charge, not discussing how attractive they found your late husband," Pegasus added, shrugging. "Though, he was one of the finer men of our age. Anyway, the prosecution will be trying to prove you had an affair."

"Which, if they saw that picture, they would know was unnecessary." Mai said with a shrug, leaning back in her chair.

"Wait, don't all rich people have like, security cameras everywhere?"

"We've already checked, there's none in the garden," Kaiba answered.

"Well, what about the driveways? If you see Mai leaving at one time and coming back at another, showing her not being there when he was killed…" I trailed off with a wave of my hand. If I expected Kaiba to be impressed, I was mistaken. But someone else was.

"Well done, Joey, boy. Mrs. Magnum, have your people send me that footage. My interns and I have to go, we've got class."

Mai stood up, pulling me into another hug before saying goodbye to the rest of the interns. "Remember to relax a little, Kaiba. Maybe you should be the one having an affair to loosen you up a little," she whispered to him, loud enough for me to hear next to them but not the whole room. I laughed and she winked at me with a smirk, Kaiba glaring. I got the odd feeling that it was more than just a typical Mai wink though, but I tried not to think about it.

We filed out of the house, piling into Pegasus' limo as it took us back to campus. "Good idea, Joey," Rebecca said once we got in. "I can't believe none of us thought of that yet."

"Thank you," I replied with a smile. "Hopefully it helps."

"In case it doesn't, I want you all to talk to other people," Pegasus said. "Rebecca, you and Duke talk to Mr. Magnum's daughter, see if she wavers on her story. Mahad and Téa, you two take Vivian Wong. Kaiba, take Joey and go see the pool boy. It's almost too convenient that someone who should be working in the pool house found her in the greenhouse. I'll give you dates and times when I can."

We nodded and I let out a low groan at being paired with Kaiba. Téa, who'd sat next to me, squeezed my arm, probably bummed herself that she was paired with the intern she didn't really know. Kaiba and I glared at each other but my attention was pulled away by my phone, sighing when I read it.

The day before, Tristan had called me giving me amazing news, that he was ready to propose to Serenity. Long story short, he'd called to make sure I wouldn't be bothered due to my failed relationship, and I'd told him he was ridiculous for even thinking so.

I knew he still had planning to do for the proposal, but I still kept expecting every text and phone call to be him telling me he was ready or her telling me she'd said yes.

All it was this time was him letting me know when he'd be visiting.

"Ooh, who's Tristan?" the ever-nosy Rebecca asked, looking over at my phone. I hadn't even noticed her snooping. She was too short to be noticed. "Is that your boyfriend?"

"Wait, you got a boyfriend without telling me?" Téa asked, looking a little hurt.

I rolled my eyes a little. "He's my best friend from home, he's not my boyfriend. He's actually with my sister, I'm waiting to see when he proposes."

Téa's hurt expression gave way for an excited smile. "Ah! That's amazing! I love weddings. Well, ones I don't have to plan," she joked.

I briefly remembered the conversation I'd had with Duke about how he didn't do any helping for planning his wedding to Téa, and everything else he'd said that night, and I felt a lump in my throat. I looked over at Duke, expecting some look of embarrassment or something as though he remembered, too, but instead he made a face.

"Really? I hope she says no, I mean. He's a mechanic."

I glared. If I'd been a worse person, I probably would have told Téa up front everything he'd said right then and there, but I wasn't. "He's a mechanic who's more than twice the man you'll ever be, you insufferable cuntbucket."

"You always have such eloquent insults," Kaiba answered from across the seat, looking at his phone. My face heated up, remembering how I'd called him a douchecanoe. I don't know where these insults came from, but at least they were unique.

Mahad changed the subject to something neutral, the reading we had to do, and the tension in the car eased up. Pegasus even complimented all of us for keeping up with the homework as well as the internship, even though it hadn't been long at all. We discussed the case in the reading and apparently, that was sufficient because when we got to class, Pegasus didn't call on any of us, instead embarrassing a few other students who probably figured we would be the ones he called on and hadn't done the homework.

I was getting ready for bed when my phone buzzed on the charger. I smiled wide at the message from Tristan. It had a date, a plan, and a picture of a ring.

'Ready as I'll ever be,' he signed at the end.

'Good luck, bro!'

Author's Notes: Anyone notice that twice in one chapter, Kaiba interrupted Duke and Joey before Duke could insult him? I didn't mean for it to happen, but then it did, and I love it. This chapter was supposed to be a break from law school and focused on Tristan and Serenity but it didn't make as much sense here as I thought so I decided to make it a spinoff one shot. If you'd like to read it, it's called Be Mine and I'll be publishing it soon (hopefully). Thank you guys for being patient, and if you like Puppyshipping/the Kaiba dynamic/don't mind reading about an OC, I have another fic I recently started called Super Rich Kids and I'd like to see how you all think of that.