Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh

Story Warnings: Mentions of Past Violence, Mentions of Past Wounds, Mentions of Past Abuse

I'm using the prompts for Puzzle June as a way to get back into writing. This last month has been a struggle and all the goals I had to write didn't pan out in the slightest. All of them will be a minimum of 1000 words like Phases from last year, but all of them Of Land and Sky based. They will not include reference to Frost Sky, due to avoiding possible spoilers, and shall be set anywhere from before Sky Dance to a little after Dark Sky. Unless there are specific mentions of the events in prior stories, the scenes should be inclusive anywhere throughout the timeline. I'm hoping this will help me to better plan out the final story.

I'll try to post the prompts daily from here on out, but apologies if a day or two is skipped. I'm having to find time around real life drama and things of that nature, so leniency please!

I: Opportunity

Yugi came racing toward him. Atem looked up only when he heard his paws scrabbling for purchase. He blinked and got up, tilting his head. The Gandora burst forward again, panting. Something lay between his teeth, bright and glistening. The scales were shiny and slick and he could see its eye glittering where the light slanted across the pupil visible him. Atem tilted his head further, then took a seat and wrapped his tail neatly around his paws.

"Little one?"

The Gandora stopped feet from him, panting around his catch. When he saw he had Atem's sole attention, the juvenile tipped his chin up and stood straighter. He lost his frantic pace, instead parading forward as proudly as he could muster.

The God Dragon snorted. "You went fishing?"

Yugi stopped and took a seat. He was trembling with excitement. "It's the prettiest fish I've ever seen!" he blurted around the large body. Atem watched its gills tremble. "I wanted you to have it."

He blinked, confused, and leaned forward to sniff it. He wanted him to have the prettiest fish he'd ever seen? Had he gone fishing for him or had he simply seen this fish and thought it so gorgeous he needed to bring it to him?

Had they not already mated, Atem would have assumed Yugi giving him a courtship gift. It was one way to get a Water Dragon to pay attention, and Atem was a third them genetically. Sky Dragons were a mix of Water, Wind and Lightning genetics. If Yugi had come up with a fish for courtship, Atem would have found it both curious and amusing despite it all.

Yugi raised his chin higher and closed his eyes. He held the fish as if it were the most important gift he could ever bestow him, as if he felt Atem should praise him. And some small part of him felt so warm with affection that Yugi should do something so childish and simple and sweet. He wanted to bring him a present for no other reason than he'd thought of him when he'd seen this fish and considered it beautiful.

Atem smiled. "Thank you," he murmured. He looked him over as Yugi trembled harder with satisfaction, shuffling his paws. Atem leaned forward to reach for its tail. But as he got closer, the fish flailed. Its tail struck Yugi in the cheek and the Gandora yelped. His prey fell through the air and hit the ground. It flailed and jumped and swatted Yugi in the face once more.

Atem burst out laughing as Yugi bristled and stared at it in alarm. When he laughed harder, the other dragon raised his head and stared at him with a stunned expression.

"Oh, little one," he snickered, leaning forward to lick his beak, "thank you."

He looked down at the fish and back as it flailed. It flopped a few inches, lay motionless but for struggling for breath, and repeated. Yugi looked mortified as he hissed, "I thought it was dead! I thought…!"

"They play dead sometimes when they're removed from water," he teased, licking his cheek and looking down at the fish once more. He reached out with a paw, pressing it to the ground, and glanced at it and then Yugi again. It looked almost violet, glistening in the shadows and sunlight where they danced across its scales. His primary heart skipped a beat before he lowered his mouth to grab it between his teeth. He hurried past him, jumped the ledges leading to the water, and hurried to the riverbank. He stopped a foot into the water, lowered his head, and opened his jaws to release it.

Yugi seemed flummoxed. "Atem?" he said hesitantly, looking small when the God Dragon glanced over. He searched his face, tilting his head. He looked as if he were struggling to find words.

He blinked and smiled. "It was too pretty to eat."

Yugi frowned and looked at the river. "But I… I wanted you to have it." Even as he said it, he seemed to realize how nonsensical the idea was. He lifted his eyes and considered him, then came closer to the bank before hesitating and moving away again.

Atem wondered if he'd used a net to catch it. He'd yet to see him use one, but he knew he still had the one he'd brought to use against Atem during his courtship challenge. "I'm sorry. I know it must have been tiring to grab the net and then have to dig through for that fish, but—"

"Net?" Yugi blinked, puzzled, then laughed. "Oh, no, I didn't use the net this time! I was so excited by how gorgeous that fish was that I jumped headfirst and caught it!"

He froze. "You…caught it yourself?"

"Well, what kind of gift would it be if I hadn't caught it myself instead of using a net?" the Gandora chuckled. But he stopped and then grinned. "No, I just got so excited! I thought it was so pretty and you seemed quiet and I just wanted something to make you feel better."

Feel better? Atem almost snorted at him. But Yugi was not wrong. He'd been quiet and withdrawn, caught in his own head more than he managed to pay him mind. He felt bad, but he wasn't used to close proximity of another dragon. It was unusual, almost terrifying.

But Yugi truly was just so sweet.

He'd leaped into water despite being half Fire Dragon and avoiding the river wherever he could. He'd done it just to catch a fish he thought beautiful.

Because he'd wanted to give it to Atem.

He felt warmer than he thought he might ever have before.

"You're adorable." He hesitated. "Thank you."

Yugi smiled at him, as if the words had made the world somehow better. He sprang forward, splashing into the water as if he were part fish himself. He raised his chin, rubbed their beaks, licked his cheek, and then raced away again. He was still shaking his paws out when Atem laughed and followed.

Terminology:

Paws- feet

Beak- nose

Muzzle- bridge of nose

Molt- shedding scales in patches

Shed- shedding scales in full skin like snake

Signature- mixture of magic and pheromones used to identify individual dragons

Moon- month

Origin Form- a dragon's true body shape; usually used when first born until they gain control of magic

Battle Form- a more compact body shape for dragons; usually used for mating and fighting

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