It was Kevin's first erasing, and it was Parker's job to show him the ropes. Since it was Kevin's first time, Parker was going to be the one in command and would explain step by step what he was doing, all while Kevin watched. Parker would occasionally test Kevin's knowledge throughout the long night, ask for his assistance if need be, and even though he wasn't really allowed to do so, ask Kevin to make pots of coffee when they were finding it difficult to keep their eyes open.

As they unloaded their equipment from the van, Parker found himself wishing for the umpteenth time that the equipment wasn't so damn heavy, especially since they'd have to lug all this crap upstairs.

"How long have you been doing this?" Kevin whispered to Parker as the older one of the two tested the doorknob with his free hand to make sure the client had left it unlocked. He really hated it when clients forgot and locked the door anyway out of habit.

"'Bout two years," Parker answered casually as he opened the door. "And you don't have to whisper. Chances are he's asleep."

"I-I know," Kevin replied as he crossed the threshold. "It's just...so strange. Kinda exciting."

Parker snorted. "It gets to be pretty routine after the first few times," he responded dully as Kevin locked the front door, just in case. "No big deal. Okay, so Boss said our guy's gonna be in the upstairs bedroom."

Parker and Kevin walked in silence in the few moments that it took to approach the staircase.

"This's a big house for a single guy," Kevin commented, having a look around.

Parker shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But a house by the beach?" he asked as they ascended the stairs. "Why the hell not?"

"Yeah, I guess," Kevin agreed. "I'd like to live here."

Parker grunted in response as they drew closer to the bedroom. He rolled his eyes when he noticed that the door was closed. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Aw, shit," he complained having to cradle the device he was holding in the crook of his arm yet again so he could open the door.

The client lay in his bed, seemingly asleep. Parker wanted to make sure, though. "Hey," he said in his normal voice.

The guy did not stir.

"He's asleep," Parker confirmed, setting down the equipment he was carrying. "Okay, rookie, let's get to it."

Joey was the first to notice Mai once she entered the apartment. He looked up at her and grinned, saying, "Hey, babe! I hope you don't mind."

Mai's only answer was to smile, and she made her way to the kitchen, reminding herself that hers and Joey's relationship was still new, really, so she could keep her irritation at bay. It was too early for stress and drama, she thought, so Mai was willing to let this one go. There would be a time where they'd start setting boundaries, but she really didn't want to get into that at the moment.

This was how they both dealt with confrontation now; they just let things slide in order to maintain peace, since they didn't want to ruing things at the moment. Their new life together was something along the lines of happiness mingled with awkwardness, even if that went against what they both stood for.

Truth be told, that was how things had been ever since she'd found him in the Game Shop. The afternoon after Valon had ended things with her, she hopped in her car and drove for the Game Shop, hoping that Joey was there with the others, yet praying that he wasn't. Life was strange like that.

So she'd entered the shop quietly, electing to avoid a grand entrance. The shop was empty, save for Yugi leaning on the counter, going over homework problems with Joey. Mai exhaled and Yugi, having heard the door open and close, looked up, starting to recite the greeting he gave to all customers. He stopped when he noticed who it was standing at the door, and a look of shock replaced his chipper smile. Stumbling on his words, Yugi gestured for Joey to look over at his shoulder.

Joey looked over his shoulder lazily, unfazed by Yugi's change in demeanor. When he realized that she was really standing there, his eyes widened. He turned himself around, shouting, "Mai? Is—is that really you?"

A small grin appeared on Mai's face as she took a few steps forward. "Yeah, Joey," she murmured. "It's really me."

Joey let out a sound a jubilation, and he wasted no time running up to her and throwing his arms around her in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you, Mai!" he exclaimed, squeezing her and dancing from foot to foot happily.

And Mai had happily returned his hug. She'd closed her eyes and rested her chin on his shoulder, humming to herself contentedly, now that she was finally in the arms she'd imagined herself in all those months with Valon. Her smile faltered when she thought of Valon, and discomfort started to eclipse the relief she felt to be in Joey's arms.

Her eyes slid open and Yugi caught her eye as she tried to maintain a genuine smile. Yugi stood there, behind the counter, brow furrowed, with an uncertain smile. Her own brow furrowing, Mai looked at Yugi and smiled morosely at him while Joey continued to dance and tell her how he was so excited to see her.

Funny, Mai had thought as she held onto Joey. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life thus far, but...

Mai screwed her eyes shut and held on tighter. But nothing! She was here with Joey, and that was all that mattered. It was all she wanted, all she needed.

Right?

"Sooo," Kevin said as Parker waited for the computer to wake up. "We're erasing his ex-girlfriend, right?"

Parker nodded, pulling out a picture he had. Each job, he kept at least one object from a client in his pocket for reference, whatever was small enough to fit in his pocket. Photographs were ideal. He handed the picture to Kevin.

Kevin whistled. "Wonder what he did to make her so mad."

Parker shook his head. "It's not like that," he replied, drumming his fingers on his knee as the computer brought up the desktop.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, going by his interview, he broke up with her."

"R-really?" Kevin asked, surprised.

"Tch'yeah," Parker replied. "Relationships are more complicated than that, Kevin. People, regardless of sex or gender, are capable of messing up."

"I-I didn't...mean it like that," Kevin stammered, turning red.

"Uh huh," Parker replied as he clicked open the correct program. "Sure. Okay, we should be golden in a few minutes."

"Do you—do you ever stop and think about what this all means?" Kevin asked curiously, fitting the device that allowed them a look into someone's head around the client's head, having a hard time with it because of the guy's gigantic hair.

"Yeah," Parker replied, tapping in the password. "We're wiping peoples' memories."

"N-no, I mean more than that," Kevin continued. "You ever think about how we erasing more than just memories—we're erasing people?"

"Not from the real world," Parker replied.

"I know," Kevin replied, sitting back down on his chair. "I mean how we're erasing parts of peoples' lives."

"That is the point of this whole operation," Parker replied dryly. Poor kid was trying to act like he was coming across something novel, something profound.

"I know that. Do you just ever stop and think about that?"

Parker sighed and clicked "Go." He turned and looked at Kevin. "Yeah. I do. Now be a good assistant and go make some coffee."