Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic in… god knows how many years. I think I wrote a one shot for Puzzleshipping back in late middle/early high school..? I'm a senior in college now, so either way it's been a while. And it was BAD. LIKE SURPRISINGLY-NOT-PURPOSEFUL-IN-THE-SLIGHTEST BAD. I've had ideas for various fics across many fandoms since then but never really had the drive to actually write them. Yet here I am, writing a fanfic that would probably fit better in 2010… Ah, who am I kidding? I don't care!

I got this idea from my own job in which I accidentally flirted with a customer (don't ask me how I did that because I'm not entirely sure myself) and I'll being using heavily abridged versions of other work stories to make it more fun! At the moment I have no beta for this fic so bear with me if it's... odd at some points. Like I said, fiction isn't really something that I've written in a long time and having this in first person also makes it an even more interesting challenge.

This fic will be listed as T for sexual suggestiveness and language, but it will change to M in later chapters.

Side Notes: This does take place in Japan but the references to cops and the justice system will more likely be accurate with America's system. Honestly this is just because I'm American and am obviously more knowledgeable on our justice system, though I can't promise that there still won't be any errors (but my brother is a Criminal Justice major so he can help me out with that a bit) It's just that I feel I'll be able to right a more fluid story by going this route. It's not the biggest deal, but I thought I'd mention it!

Okay, enough of all of that! Hopefully you guys will enjoy and feel free to leave reviews at your leisure! :)

Chapter 1: Clocking In

*Beep*Beep*Beep*Beep*

Somewhere deep in my mind, I had registered that this was the 3rd time my alarm had gone off, but the fog that comes with being half asleep surrounded the thought and I remained engulfed by the warmth of my blankets. I always slept with more than one as I had the habit of kicking them off myself during the night, but I must've been unconsciously cold enough that I created a sort of half-hazard nest around me. I probed one hand from the underside of a blanket and silenced my phone on the table next to my bed before bringing it to my face to rub my eyes lazily. It took me a few more moments to register the fact that my blonde bangs were sticking to my face with the help of sweat. There was also an uncomfortable tug on my scalp caused by my hair laying in strange way and I brought my hand up to ruffle it back into some form of star-shaped normalcy. I might've even stayed there for a few more minutes if it wasn't for the rumble I heard underneath my shirt. It's funny how the prospect of food was much more effective at waking me than the possibility of losing the job that I desperately needed, but I was too dazed to dwell on it fully. Instead, I kicked my feet over the side of the bed with legs still entangled by the blankets and trudged my way towards the kitchen.

After munching on a few pieces of toast and downing a glass of orange juice, I begrudgingly finished my morning routine and stared at myself in my bathroom mirror as I buttoned up my red work shirt. My hair wasn't completely dry even after 20 minutes with a blow-dryer on high heat yet it was already pointing at the burgundy ends while the blonde pieces fell neatly to frame my face, a small curl sat precisely on the middle of my forehead.

In a strange way, I envied my hair. It knew what it was supposed to do, where to go, how to bend in a breeze yet retain its shape in the process. The rest of me could never seem to keep at the same pace. I always felt jerked in many directions, most of the as a result of my poor judgment, and I often felt uncertain. Not that I would admit it to anyone. It just would've been me preaching to the choir. Maybe that's why I began going to college a year ago, a major in Archeology and a minor in Art History. I secretly felt solace in the fact that I wasn't the only one who had no clue of what to do with my life. Picking a seemingly dead end major and secluding myself from the other students wasn't much of a help, but I still felt a sort of a comradery with everyone. At least I had friends at work that I could actually talk to, especially since I saw them much more regularly than the students within the Domino University walls. With them, I could be my snarky, goofy self instead of being reduced to a shy, anxious little boy. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of them and quickly fixed my collar before briskly treading down the stairs to grab my house keys off the counter.

After a long bus ride, I finally made it to my stop. I rushed through the bus aisle and almost landed face first on the sidewalk as I tried jumping the stairs.

"Hey! Watch it, kid! I don't be needin' no blood on the bus now!" I heard the bus driver call. I quickly recovered from my dismount and ignored his comment, brushing past an endless sea of faces until I finally made it to a familiar storefront.

Above the entrance to the run down building was a large, lit up sign that read the same name that was embroidered on my shirt: Kingdom Korner, a convenience store that was tucked tightly between newer, towering buildings in the city. I wasn't sure who in the hell came up with the name, but I assumed that they were immediately fired for such a cheesy name and that the only reason why no one bothered to change it was that the owners were too cheap to buy a new sign. But that was the least of their worries in my opinion. The outside was covered in warn down, dirty off-white paneling and the roof leaked like hell even when it rained lightly. Yet there must've been some kind of charm that I was missing as it appeared to be the most favored convenience store in town, which was surprising considering how many newer stores had opened up in the past couple of months. Leave it to summer time to bring in the business owners hoping to cash in on the students out of school.

I pushed open the door and glanced to my right towards the registers. I could hear rustling and swearing past my gaze that I immediately recognized as my manager but I ignored it and instead went up to my coworker Anzu Mazaki. She was behind one of the three registers fixing some display items that had been mixed around by customers. She glanced up through her russet bangs and grinned as I approached.

"Good morning, Yugi!" She greeted enthusiastically, leaning her body against the counter to be at eye level with me. Though we were both 19, she was at least a foot taller than me, even when considering my hairdo as a factor. Without it, I was around 5'3" tall, which was a height that I had been stuck at since the 7th grade. As a result, the majority of my life was riddled with people either taking advantage of my… 'short-comings' or 'be-littling' me. Or worst of all: making horrible jokes about it.

Seriously, who… reduces themselves to that level.

"Morning, Mazaki-chan!"

Anzu reached out a finger and gently prodded my forehead, rolling her eyes.

"I swear to God, Yugi, if you keep calling me by my last name I'm going to go and legally change it to something so horrendous that you'll HAVE to use my first name."

It was my turn to roll my eyes as I backed away from her onslaught to make my way around the counter and punch in.

"My goodness, you're absolutely right! It's almost as if I was Japanese or something."

She scoffed but couldn't stifle the giggles behind it. "…You are such a sarcastic little asshole, you know that?"

I sighed dramatically and leaned against another one of the registers.

"My word you wound me! How dare you say such a thing about me?!"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "What? That you're an asshole?"

"No. That I'm little."

She reached over and lovingly placed her hand over one of my shoulders and cooed.

"Aww don't worry, sweetie. Just be sure to drink your milk and someday you'll be as big and strong as Jounouchi!"

I stuck my tongue out at her before I realized that said blonde was missing from the picture. I looked around, surprised not to see him.

"Speaking of which, where is he?"

She dropped her arm to her side before answering me.

"He called in sick this morning, which means it's going to just be you, me, and Pegasus the whole shift."

I grimaced and this time sought out my manager who I could still hear grumbling from the back of the store. His long, white hair was bright enough that the fluorescent lights above illuminated it like headlights on a traffic cone. He was stocking chips in one of the isles and seemed to be having a fit over something. It really didn't take long for something to set the man off, but a majority of the time he was full of charm like some sort of dignified ruler. At least that's how he described his personality. I liked to think of him more as a… sexual predator.

I rubbed my temple, expecting the worst for a Saturday morning in the dead of summer. We'd most likely be the hotspot for anyone looking to escape the heat, all while we had other general tasks that had to be done by the end of our shift.

Would everything get done with Jounouchi missing? It seemed about as likely as my true love walking through the doors and sweeping me off my feet.

I sighed, brushing my bangs from my face before stretching my arms up with a satisfying pop.

"Well, I guess I better go ask Pegasus what needs to be done today," I announced as I glanced to see a few bodies already filing into the store, "Can you handle the front for a bit?"

Anzu nodded. "Sure can, but you might wanna put your nametag on first."

I tilted my head in confusion and groped my chest looking for the golden pin. Nothing. Super.

"Back pockets?" she suggested.

"Just my wallet and keys."

"Well then…" she trailed off as she grabbed something from atop her register, "I guess you'll be 'Jounouchi' instead of 'Mutou' for today."

She handed me Jounouchi's pin and shook her head as I took it from her and placed it properly on my shirt, "Honestly you'd swear I was the mother of you two. You guys need to keep better track of your names or someone might take them from under you. Not counting this instance, of course."

She gave me another comedic opening that I couldn't refuse even if I tried.

"Well, since I'm 'Jounouchi' today, does that also mean that I get to be tall?"

She clicked he tongue and considered it for a moment as she turned towards an approaching customer.

"Sorry, genes are non-traversable in this establishment."

One second: a blink. Another second: I felt my skin pale.

"Holy-Anzu oh my God."

Thanks, Anzu. It wasn't as if I was still attemping to rid myself of that memory from months prior. Leave it to Jounouchi to try to get to third base with a girl in the backroom and mentally scar his two friends all in the same night. Why did I want him there again?

I mentally slapped myself out of shock at the reminder of the situation and B-lined for my manager. The man's face immediately brightened when I walked up next to him. He looked me up and down with his one eye from his place on the floor and smirked.

"Why hello there, Yugi-boy."

Oh right. Horny teenager trumped sexual predator. I was going to be in for a long day.

So that was the introduction! I apologize for the puns and I have nothing to say for myself. Review please!