A.N: Okey dokey, here's the last bit. It gets fluffier.

Three weeks after the new assignment, Yugi finally grew used to his new living arrangements. Atem was a kind hearted person, it turned out they had more in common than physical appearance. For instance, they both liked playing cards. The real kind of cards, not anything on a digital tablet. When Yugi had a tiresome day, Atem came knocking on his door and demanding re-matches. It was quite fun.

Of course, Yugi wasn't the only one having to adjust to the partnership. He knew Joey was having some kind of problem with his pilot, but it was never clarified specifically what the problem was. Tristan was more than pleased with his pilot, who seemed to return his affection, from what Yugi had seen. The pair that really caught his attention was Ryou and Melvin. Ryou was timid, even-tempered, and slightly effeminate. Whereas Melvin looked like he'd joined the fleet as an excuse to murder something. And yet, Ryou was unharmed, untouched, and if anything, he looked healthier since he started living with the pilot.

It was strange, because Melvin punched someone in the face at least every hour.

One morning, Yugi was woken by a comm signal. He was apparently supposed to help a few technichians and racers get out into space, that day. Sighing, he went for the bathroom to wash up, not bothering to put his uniform on. He was going in the shower, after all.

Atem was in there, brushing his teeth and trying to comb his hair into a slightly more managable position, with no avail to the latter. When he saw Yugi, he gave a grunt of acknowledgement. Yugi wasn't bothered too much by the fact the two of them were only in their underwear, and stepped into the shower. When he slipped the boxers off, he slid them through a crack in the door so Atem wouldn't see.

"Oh, relax." Atem chuckled, "I've got my back turned, anyway."

Yugi ignored him and started the shower, flinching as cold water poured down on him. The problem with living on the station was that heat was a rarity; they were in space. Yugi finished in the shower quickly, stepping out and reaching for the nereast towel. To his utter shock, Atem was still standing there, holding the towel out for him with a lopsided smirk. "You were fast. I didn't have to wait very long." Atem stepped forward, Yugi instantly stepping back.

"Why are you...?" he started, then realised. "Oh, you were waiting for the shower?"

Atem smiled down at him, more innocently than the smirk he had before. "Yeah."

Yugi grabbed the towel, covering himself as fast as he could. In his surprise, he had forgotten he was completely naked. "Uh, there you go." Yugi stepped aside, Atem passing right by him. Their bare skin touched, and for a moment, Yugi felt his heart stop. He recovered immediately, shaking his head and going for his room. After he changed, Yugi set out towards the technician bay.

The starbase wasn't the biggest, but with his height, Yugi felt very small when he traveled around it. Since he'd only been in the upper levels of the station for quite a few years, Yugi was only vaguely familiar with which direction he should go to get to the bay. Eventually, he found the doors and walked in, praying he still didn't look lost.

"Ah! Mr. Muto," a tall lieutenant called him over. He had dark skin, and a tattoo on the side of his face, intimidating Yugi even more with his baritone voice. "Come over here, we'll need you to help with these two." He jabbed a thumb towards a shuttle.

Yugi followed the lieutenant's point, and surprisingly, he recognised the technician and racer. "Bakura? Marik?" Yugi walked over, feeling a little more confident now that he knew these people.

"Oh, it's Yugi!" Marik said, smiling. "Hello!"

"G'morning," Bakura grunted, still fiddling with some wires that were sticking out under the shuttle's nose. "You're supposed to be giving us directions, right?"

"Actually, I'll be setting an autopilot course for you two to run." Yugi said, heading for the shuttle door. "It shouldn't take too long before your out on the field."

Marik grimaced, "This sucks. We're totally going to die!"

"Oh, get over yourself." Bakura rolled his eyes, closing the nose of the shuttle and standing up. "We'll be fine."

"That's not exactly reassuring, fluffy!" Marik snapped, still looking anxious.

"Hey, you two will be fine." Yugi piped up, "The war is almost won, I doubt they'll even try to kill you once you get out there."

"Thanks...I guess..." Marik mumbled, exchanging a short glance with Bakura. Yugi couldn't help but think there was something going on between the two of them, but he shook the thought away and climbed into the shuttle.

...

The training gymnasium was made up of mostly pilots, taking their sweet time at the many activities they had to entertain themselves with. Atem personally preferred the treadmill, even if it was a bit old fashioned. He ran endlessly, enjoying the feeling of his bare feet scraping the material beneath him.

On his left, Kaiba was weight lifting, whereas Melvin was doing chin-ups on his right. It was mostly silent, apart from a few grunts of exhaust every once and a while. Finally, Melvin spoke. "So, what're your little navigators like?"

Kaiba's face went red, which he could've blamed on the weight lifting. "I'm stuck with a mutt. He's a nuisance."

"Mine's very timid," Atem huffed, speeding up his pace. "He's warming up to me, though. Sometimes we play cards."

"Ooh! You're in love!" Melvin sang, spinning himself over the chin-up bar and hanging from it like a sloth. "Atemu is in love!"

"Don't call me that!" Atem grumbled, shooting a glare at the Egyptian.

"You should see my little guy!" Melvin cackled, ignoring him. "He's this cute little albino, always looks calm and dignified. But I pull one wrong move, and- WHAM!" Melvin was now only hanging from his legs, "The little guy can scold like no tomorrow!"

"You mean he talks down to you?" Kaiba asked, heaving a ridiculously large weight over his thin frame. Atem watched him closely, trying to make sure his kind-of-friend wasn't squashed.

"Yup!" Melvin chuckled, "I like him. He's got moxy."

"Keep it in your pants, Ishtar." Kaiba rolled his eyes, putting the weight down; it seemed to relieve Atem more than it did him. "Speaking of which, look at Devlin."

All three pilots gazed across the gym, finding the ebony haired man who was climbing the rope. Duke Devlin, one of the most attractive pilots in the fleet, was rumored to be having a little relationship with his navigator. He certainly looked happier than he had in days, but no one had any proof. Atem sighed, "Well, at least he's pleased."

"Hm," Kaiba snorted, "I don't know what he sees in a navigator like that."

"Probably the same thing you see in yours." Melvin grinned, taking another spin on the bar before resuming his chin-ups.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Kaiba's face was as stoic as ever, but was betrayed by a slightly pink hue.

"No way!" Atem exclaimed, almost sliding off the treadmill. "You like your navigator!"

"What the fuck are you two talking about?" Kaiba seethed, but his face just kept going into darker shades of red. "I do not like that mutt!"

"Denial!" Melvin shrieked, pointing at Kaiba dramatically. Atem was now impressed that the Egyptian could hold all of his body weight with one hand. "Denial! Kaiba is in DENIAL!"

"Oh yeah? And what about you?" Kaiba tossed back, looking ready to kill. "You clearly have it in for that poor limey kid."

"But he's different!" Melvin whined, continuing to pull himself upwards with one hand. "He's not boring, he can fight back!"

"Kinky," Kaiba sneered, scooping up another weight.

"Ladies, ladies!" Atem cut in, chuckling. "Stop arguing about your boyfriends."

"That mutt is NOT my boyfriend," Kaiba hissed, turning his glare to Atem. Oops.

"Oh, and what about Atemu's little crush?" Melvin pried, grinning widely. "We couldn't leave you out of this torment, could we?"

"No, we certainly couldn't." Kaiba smirked, a frightening sight. This man wasn't supposed to show too much emotion, it could seriously damage a person if they saw him smiling.

"Uh, hey..." Atem quickly tried to change the subject, "So, what do you think about the war?"

"Don't you dare chicken out on us!" Melvin barked, hanging upside down. "Tell us about your love life, Atemu dear!"

"Stop calling me that!" Atem growled, "And there is nothing going on between me and my navigator." Even as he said it, Atem began questioning himself.

"Right, and Melvin is straight." Kaiba rolled his eyes, seemingly oblivious to the daggers Melvin's eyes were throwing at him.

"Well, how could I like that shrimp?" Atem started to think of reasons why he wouldn't like Yugi, but he found none. His navigator was perfect. "Um...he looks just like me!"

"His eyes are purple!" Melvin cut in, "Or amethyst...one or the other."

"And he looks slightly younger than you." Kaiba added, "Let's not even delve into the difference between your voices."

"Shut up! Both of you, just silence yourselves!" Atem plugged his ears, focusing on the treadmill instead of his annoying kind-of-friends. "The pharoah demands peace!"

They left him alone, but that only seemed to make it worse. Atem couldn't stop picturing it, now. Yugi's smile, his nervousness, the way he got scared when they flew really fast. How he laughed whenever he won a game of cards, how he looked whever he was embarrassed about something. Atem tried to get rid of those thoughts, but they just kept coming back, taking over his brain. And then, he remembered Yugi's naked, damp body from when he had emerged from the shower.

Abruptly, Atem stopped the treadmill and left the gym. He was well aware of the eyes on his back, but he couldn't care less. All he needed to do was to stop thinking about Yugi like that, to stop suddenly wanting to think about him.

Biting back a scream of frustration, Atem went straight for his quarters. He didn't like Yugi, this was just his friends playing with his head. That had to be it. Out of nowhere, he suddenly imagined himself kissing Yugi- right on those soft, pink lips. This time, Atem really did scream. It startled a few passing racers, but Atem was more focused on getting the image far away from him, and ran to his quarters without so much as looking back.

Of course, Yugi just had to be walking towards the quarters, as well. He also just had to not notice Atem running really fast. And Atem, who was too busy trying to beat his thoughts up, rammed right into the smaller man. In an awkward collison, Atem wound up on top of Yugi, practically straddling him. "Ow!" Yugi grumbled, leaning his head back.

Atem's breath hitched in his throat. Yugi was so close to him, he could feel their leather covered skin pressed against one and other. Almost instatly, the taller man shot up, apologising multiple times as he stumbled toward the wall.

Yugi, who hadn't really reacted to Atem's tumble, sat up and rubbed the back of his head. When he realised who it was who ran into him, he lit up with the cutest smile Aem had ever seen. "Oh! Hello there, pharoah!"

"H-hello, Yugi." Atem stuttered, trying to find his equilibrium and failing. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention."

"Neither was I," Yugi giggled, he freaking giggled. "I wasn't watching or other people, so we're both to blame."

Without thinking, Atem offered his hand to help Yugi up. When the smaller man grasped it, he couldn't help but show off a little bit, tugging Yugi upwards with ease. Sheesh, this guy was about as heavy as a rabbit. Yugi stumbled at being lifted, his face stopping only inches from Atem's chest. Wow. It was so muscular under all that leather. Suddenly realising where his thoughts were leading, Yugi snapped his head back and straightened himself up.

"Uh, thank you." he mumbled, awkwardly.

"No problem," Atem coughed, slightly pink in the face. God, this guy was cute.

They both stood there for a moment until Yugi went for his door, heat rising to his ears. The way Atem had looked at him was exactly the way he felt- confused and flustered. Yugi went straight for his bed, questioning why he felt this way.

Surely it wasn't Atem.

Or Atem's chest, his broad shoulders, biceps, cocky grin, or anything that made him so fucking attractive. And it certainly wasn't the way Atem joked with him when they played cards, or the way Atem laughed when they flew way too fast. It wasn't because Atem made Yugi feel comfortable, or because Atem seemed to know what made him embarrassed.

Oh crap. What it was?

Yugi's mind reeled, the idea of having something so petty, having a crush, it was unthinkable. And yet, here he was. He remembered how their eyes met across the dock, or the way Atem always waved at him when they passed each other in the hallway. His heart began to flutter, an unfamiliar feeling rising in his stomach. He was twenty-four years old, why did he have to make up on lost youth now? Yugi groaned and buried his face in his pillow, curling his knees up to his stomach.

In about five minutes, he had uncovered that he might like his pilot in a rather un-innocent way, as well. With those strangely erotic thoughts prying at his mind, Yugi decided he'd go to bed before things got any worse.

...

The following morning was slightly disasterous. Yugi woke up to a familiar alarm, one that meant the human side had scored a point, and ran for the washroom to brush his teeth. Now, he had completely ignored the fact that Atem was in there, standing his boxers and trying to multi-task between brushing his hair and teeth. Yugi just stripped down to his own boxers, ignoring the choking sound coming from the pilot, and hurriedly cleaned the plaque off his gums. It was only after he spat out the last bit of toothpaste that he realised what was going on. Slowly, his cheeks flushed, and he turned to meet Atem's gaze, wich was a mixture of amusement and shock.

"Good morning," the navigator managed to squeak, slightly mortified with his current dilemma. "Any idea what happened?"

"No. That's why I'm getting ready..." Atem replied, blinking at Yugi and smiling.

"Oh," Yugi mumbled, going more red by the second. He tried to look nonchalant, waving his hand and heading back to his room. "Carry on."

The moment the door closed, he heard Atem burst into laughter. It rubbed off on Yugi after a little while, he eventually giggled at his own foolishness and slipped into uniform. By the time he and Atem reached the gate, it was crowded with other officers, pilots, navigators, and pretty much everyone. Yugi could see Joey getting lifted above their shoulders, a bandage on his cheek.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked the nearest navigator, which just so happened to be Ryou.

"Joey and Kaiba found an enemy base and blew it up!" Ryou said, smiling brightly. "That means they'll be retreating sooner than we expected!"

Eyes wide, Yugi looked back at his friend who was being cheared for. Joey didn't seem to be paying attention; as a matter of fact, he looked worried. When he was set down, Yugi ran right for him. "Joey, congratulations!"

"Nyeh?" Joey blinked, "Oh. Right."

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, noticing the spaced out expression his friend was wearing.

"Kaiba," Joey mumbled, quietly. "He got hurt in the attack. He's okay, they said he'll be okay."

Yugi was a little surprised. Joey had only shown signs of irritation towards his pilot, and now he was getting all anxious about a couple injuries? Giggling, Yugi shook is head. "Oh, you so like him."

"What?" Joey asked, not having heard Yugi's comment over the other voices in the room.

"Oh, nothing." Yugi chuckled, rolling his eyes.

For a while, everyone celebrated their victory by talking, even drinking a little wine that a lieutenant had brought up. It was bitter tasting, so Yugi steered clear of it. The rest of the day he spent talking about the idea of going home, soon.

The only problem was: Yugi hadn't been 'home' in eight years.

The idea of leaving these people, his friends, seemed a bit unnerving to him. He decided to head back to his dorm, knowing he was going into sulk mode. He couldn't help it if he loved his job, even if the war was choatic. Not three minutes after leaving the gate, Yugi heard someone call to him. "And just what do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, hey, Atem." Yugi did his best to smile at the pilot, "I was going back to my room."

"Can I come with you?" Atem stepped closer, looking slightly on edge. "I mean, there's only so much of Melvin I can handle. Plus, I wouldn't want you to get lonely."

Yugi flushed, slightly. "Uh, okay. Sure. Go right ahead!"

Atem ruffled his hair, "You're cute when you're flustered."

They both seemed equally surprised with what he had just said. Atem retracted his hand, coughing. Yugi went beat red. In silence, they continued their walk back to their quarters.

Yugi was just about to enter the room, when Atem's arm decided to block his way. "You seem upset, partner."

"Wha-?" Yugi blinked, the heat returning to his face. "I'm not upset..."

Atem leaned in, squinting at him. "Liar."

Doing his best to return the stare, Yugi let out a huff. "And what if I am a bit upset?"

"Tell me why."

"No."

"Tell me."

Surprised at how much persuasion seemed to lace his words, Yugi bit back a gulp. "Well...I've spent, like, a quarter of my life up here."

"Oh," Atem smiled, leaning back up to his regular height. Yugi couldn't help but feel slightly disapointed with this. "You're sad because we'll be leaving."

Yugi nodded, frowning. "I don't want to lose all the friends I've made."

"You won't get rid of me that easily!" Atem grinned, finally letting Yugi open the door. His heart fluttered, the idea of losing his pilot had not yet occured to him. As Atem passed by, Yugi stared at his back. Then, without thinking, he grabbed onto Atem's shoulder blades, clinging onto his uniform with full force. "What the hell? Yugi, what're you doing?'

Yugi didn't answer, he just tightened his grip. No way was he losing this guy.

"Yugi," Atem turned around, unintentionally making Yugi's grip loosen. The shorter man stumbled into the more coordinated of the two's chest, cursing. "What's the matter?" Atem asked, taking Yugi's cheek in his hand.

"I..." Yugi wasn't sure what had come over him, but now he felt like crying. Atem was so close to him, his eyes looking at Yugi with a kind of softness he'd never seen. Deciding to go for it, Yugi closed the gap between them and locked their lips.

All at once, he expected Atem to reject him, to laugh right in his face about how puny he was. Instead, Atem's arm snaked around his waist, pulling him closer. Yugi wasn't sure how he knew what to do, but his arms made their way around Atem's neck, almost like he was expecting to be carried. The lips beneath his started moving back, softly and calmly. For a reckless aviator, Atem was one hell of a kisser. Yugi hoped he was meeting Atem's expectations, trying to match pace with his own lips.

After wht seemed like a decade, they parted.

"...Um."

"...So."

Atem decided to go first, "I like you. A lot."

"Yeah, me too. I mean- I like you." Yugi nodded, feeling slightly bashful.

Atem was quiet for a moment longer, as if contemplating what he should say. "Okay, so, I guess we're together now. I'm not really sure how this relationship stuff works."

"Me neither," Yugi giggled, smiling wholeheartedly. "Let's figure it out; together as partners."

Atem smiled back at him, "I think I can work with that."

"Can we, uh, can we kiss again?" Yugi asked, shyly looking at his feet.

Atem leaned in, somehow making that kiss better than the first. After they finished, Yugi couldn't help but laugh. "Just because were dating, I won't go easy on you in cards!"

"Oh, come on!" Atem whined, "Best two out of three?"

"You're so on."

And so they played cards, laughing as they kissed and lost their games. It didn't matter, they had both won in the end.