A/N: I don't own YGO. This sort of picks up after "Good Thing Going" (By me of course, a Joey/Mai romance—you might want to read that so you're not too lost) thanks to the suggestion of Darkhope (Thank you indeed). NOTE: Some characters could be somewhat OOC because they have changed over the years leading into adulthood but who doesn't?

The Piece of Chocolate Cake

"Oh My Gosh!"

Mai Valentine, soon to be Mai Wheeler, jumped from her chair in the restaurant and threw her arms around Joseph a.k.a. Joey Wheeler in excitement. "Ack! Easy Mai—my dessert!" Joey watched helplessly as his half-eaten piece of chocolate cake, his favorite, toppled onto the rich, red, carpeted floor. "I wasn't finished yet…"

"So sorry about that sir!" One waiter (obviously this was his first night) hurried over to their table and cleaned the mess quickly. It wasn't his fault but in his young mind he seemed to think so. "I'll get you another one!" He announced, standing up with a thin smile.

"Will I be charged for that one too?" Joey called out but the waiter didn't hear him as he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Joey, you moron!" Mai snapped, shaking him by the shoulders. "Didn't you hear me? I said yes!"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Wow! I mean, you'll marry me?" Joey asked incredulously, a goofy grin spreading across his face at Mai's curt nod. "Aw yeah! I must be the luckiest man in the world!" He laughed.

"Of course you are. You're marrying me!" Mai settled back into her seat and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress. "I can't believe you, Joey Wheeler. You struck me off as the type of guy who fears commitment. I'm really surprised." She remarked, inspecting her neatly polished nails.

"Eh, you are?" Joey raised an eyebrow. At that moment, the waiter reappeared with another piece of chocolate cake. "Oh boy!" Joey grabbed his fork, wiped it clean with a napkin (it had dropped to the floor as well) and dug in greedily, wishing he could forever savor that sweet taste of chocolate cake.

"We're going to have to set a date. We'll need a church, a reception hall, a bridal shower, and a wedding dress! Oh and…" Mai had certainly been bit by the marriage bug as she ticked off plans on her fingertips. Her dessert, a small slice of lemon meringue pie, was barely touched.

"Uh, what am I supposed to do?" Joey asked when Mai reached the little wedding details such as tables, chairs, and invitations. He wasn't much for organizing something as big and wonderful like this, but hey, it would be his wedding too and he ought to have a say in something.

"You can choose the napkins. Anyway, we'll need a—" She was cut off, inevitably.

"Napkins! Can't I choose other things too?" Joey demanded, spraying the table with crumbs of chocolate cake from his mouth.

"Ew, Joey!" Mai frowned at him. "Can't you at least act with some dignity!" The restaurant was rather high class and Joey had been saving for months to afford it here. Other customers, the ritzy rich people no doubt, cast snobbish glances at the two.

"Sorry." Joey grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. "But can I pick the spot for our honeymoon?"

"Your bill, sir!" That same waiter returned to their table and left right away to attend to another table of customers.

"Thanks man." Joey picked up the bill and read over its contents. "Hey! I shouldn't be charged for that piece of cake! And I thought the salad on the side was free! Isn't water supposed to be free too!"

"Joey pipe down!" Mai growled and snatched the bill from his hand and scanned it. "Hmm, you are right about the water."

"Water is always free!" Joey insisted, still hollering questions and demands at the waiter. "I ain't payin' for that first piece of cake that fell on the floor!" He shook his fist, trying to appear menacing but failing to do so.

"Joey!" Mai dug out her purse from under the table. The white tablecloth reached the floor so it was a fairly safe place to put her purse since they would know if someone was trying to steal it by attempting to crawl under the table… "I'm so embarrassed. Let's get out of here now!"

"What? Hey no, Mai, put that back. I'm paying for everything tonight!" Joey said proudly, reaching for his wallet and setting the proper amount on the table, next to the small dish full of mints and candies.

"Really? Now that is a shocker." Mai retorted, apparently shocked indeed that he was paying for everything.

Joey, having forgotten about the issue with the piece of chocolate cake, pushed the chair back out from him and dashed over to Mai's side of the table. "Here, I'll help ya with your coat." He picked up her white dress coat and held it out while Mai slipped into it. "Did ya want the mints too?" He asked, grabbing the whole lot of them.

"Joey Wheeler, are you implying something?" Mai glared at him with her hands on her hips. More people looked up to see what the matter was this time.

"Huh? No! No! I was just wonderin' if you wanted them because if you don't, I'll have them!" He responded, grinning.

Mai sighed, giving him a faint smile. "I can't stay mad at you for long anymore, can I." It was more of a statement than a question. Mai lead the way to the front of the restaurant and out the double doors to the parking lot.

Joey pressed the button on his car keys and listened for that quick, staccato sound of the locks unlocking and opened the door for his fiancée. "There you go, milady." He slammed the door once she was in but missed one little thing…

"Joey! My dress!" Mai opened the door and grabbed the part of her dress that the door had slammed shut on.

"Oops! Sorry." Joey jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine up. Carefully backing out of the parking space, he asked Mai a question. "So, do you like the ring?" He was referring to the engagement ring on her finger.

"It's very pretty…you didn't get it from the dollar store, did you?" She glanced at him suspiciously. At that same time they were both reminded of the incident where Mai had followed Joey around the mall, hoping to see what he had picked out for her birthday and found him looking at a few things in the dollar store. As it turned out, he was buying them for a gag gift and got her something nicer elsewhere but she was still a little steamed about it. After all, it was just last week.

"No I got it from that jewelry place." Joey answered cautiously. When no reply came, he added hastily, "Honest!"

"How much did you have to pay?" She pressed on, giving him a scrutinizing gaze. Mai was always a hard one to please.

"Eh, is that really important?" Joey nearly swerved into the next car (earning himself a beep) because of his nervousness.

"I guess not. All that matters is…WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

Joey winced when Mai hugged him again, completely unaware that they were within busy traffic. Another car sounded it's horn. "Get a life, ya dumb clown!" Joey, having rolled down his window, shouted.

"Are you calling me a dumb clown?" Mai shrieked, glaring daggers.

Joey sighed and pressed the UP button on the side. "No, Mai! I was talking to the guy who almost hit us!" He wondered what else was going to go wrong on what had been intended as a perfect evening.

Mai reached over and turned on the radio, not wanting to sit and listen, so to speak, to the awkward silence that had settled. A rather catchy song filled the vehicle.

Joey smiled at the words. It reminded him of his silly crush on her when he was a teenager. Of course he wasn't quite as blatant about it like Tristan and Duke had been about his sister. "Grr…"

"Hmm?" Mai turned to look at him. "Did you say something?"

Joey shook his head, out of his reverie. "Nope!" He said cheerfully as they turned into the underground parking lot for Mai's apartment building. It was good to be back in Domino City. Once Joey found a temporary parking space, both got out of the vehicle. "I'll walk you to your door." He said as they departed the lot into the elevator that would take them to the sixth floor.

"Oh Joey! I can't wait!" Mai commented as the elevator started upward. She clung to his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. They were roughly the same height. "I wonder what our kids will be like…"

"What!" Joey's voice could probably be heard outside the apartment building. "Kids? What do you mean kids? Isn't it a little too early to be thinking about kids?" He demanded, images of diapers, booties, toys, and messes flying about in his mind.

"I know they're going to be messy," Mai continued on as if she hadn't heard him. She didn't like the idea of changing diapers or doing little things like that but when the marriage bug bites, it bites. "But just think of how adorable they'll look in the cute outfits I'm going to buy!"

"Hello! Mai!" Joey waved his hand in front of her face as they exited the elevator onto the sixth floor where the dim hallway lights awaited them. "Didn't ya hear me? It's too early to be thinking about having kids, you know."

"Nonsense!" Mai walked ahead, fishing for her keys in her small purse as they approached 6D. "It's never to early to plan ahead."

"Hey, wanna hear a joke?" Joey changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on the thought of babies and their endless crying. "I read this book the other day called Plunge to the Sea by Ilene Dover. Ha! Get it? Ilene Dover! I leaned over! Ha! Ha!" (I.)

"You're so juvenile." Mai rolled her eyes at his corny joke. She unlocked the door and stepped partway in. "What a wonderful evening…" She sighed and turned to her fiancée. "Goodnight, Joey Wheeler." She gave him a long kiss. When she parted, Joey's eyes were still closed, lost in the kiss. "Joey." She said curtly and his eyes snapped open. "Go home and get some sleep. We've got a lot of planning to do!" Her eyes suddenly seemed to glaze over, obviously seeing other things, picturing their future. They were married and living in a small yellow house with ten pets, surrounded by a white picket fence, with an apple tree where 5 kids fought over who got to use the swing.

Yeah right.

"Love ya, Mai!" Joey called back behind him as he headed for the elevator. He felt a little embarrassed at being caught with his eyes still closed.

"Love you."

When she closed the door, Joey jumped and kicked his heels together. "I'm getting married! Wait till I tell Yugi and Serenity and Tristan and the others!" He pressed the DOWN button and waited patiently. All of a sudden, something occurred to him. "I wasn't supposed to pay for that piece of cake!"