A.N: A twoshot story. Came to me on a whim.

Hope you enjoy the puzzleshipping fluff- in space!

"All navigators from port C, please report to gate twelve for your new assigned aviator."

Yugi glanced up from his console, letting out a small sigh. He was going to be assigned a pilot, today. There wasn't much he could say about it, but he was nervous. He stood up, as did every other navigator in the port. A few desks away from him, Yugi saw the blonde hair that belonged to none other than Joey Wheeler. Quickly, he swerved through the crowd of officers to reach his friend.

"Excited?" Yugi asked, adjusting the collar of the grey, slick, fake-leather body suit that was his required uniform. Sometimes he hated that thing.

"Are ya kidding me?" Joey mumbled, Brooklyn accent in tact. "I'm freaking out, Yug! What if I get stuck with one of the really crappy pilots?"

"You're overeacting," Yugi told him, as they shuffled out into the crowd. "I'm sure we'll be fine. So long as we aren't paired up with assholes, I mean."

"Ya just jinxed it." Joey whined, almost bumping into another navigator. It happened to be Tristan, who glanced down at them with his usual dopey expression. It was often that people were surprised of his brilliant navigation skills, seeing as he wasn't the brightest of men.

"Hey, you two." Tristan said, smiling at them. "Who do you think we'll end up with?"

"Who's to say?" Yugi sighed, "It's completely out of our hands."

When they reached the gate, everyone was jittering and anxious. Yugi was starting to feel a tad uneasy, himself. Most of the pilots were jerks- they were brilliant, but they were also rude as fuck. He ran his fingers through his naturally blonde bangs, then scaling upwards to the dark red and black mess that was the rest of his hair. Most people assumed the short navigator had dyed it, when it truth, it had been abnormal since birth.

The navigators filed in the door, instantly growing quiet upon the sight of the other people who stood about the gate. Aviators. Unlike the boring grey that had been slapped onto the navigators, pilots were fortunate enough to get navy blue uniforms. Yugi found himself unnerved at the sight of the lot; they were all so tall. He would look like an accessory.

One of the lieutenants spoke up, "Okay, I want absolutely no complaints directed after you've been partnered? Got it? You will adress me as lieutenant Valentine if you wish to ask any further questions."

Yugi listened to the woman as she listed off names in alphabetical order, knowing he'd have a while yet before he was called. He did recognise a few names, such as 'Bakura, Ryou'. Yugi watched empathetically as the albino all but sulked toward the pilot he was given- a man who looked like his hair was trying to become a starfish.

Finally, after about a third of an hour, Yugi's name sounded. "Muto, Yugi. Yami, Atem."

He stepped forward, his blood freezing. Who was he? Where was he? And then a pilot emerged from the crowd, his sharp, crimson eyes the first thing Yugi could notice.

"Nice to meet you," Yugi squeaked, as the man approached him. Taller, but not by much. His skin was tanned, but only slightly. Like Yugi, he had blonde bangs, but they stuck up like lightning strikes across the mess of black and red hair that was on his skull. They could've been twins if not for a few minor differences.

"The pleasure is all yours," the pilot said, grinning. Oh no. He was arrogant. They walked toward the man who would assign them their quarters in silence, Yugi throwing a quick glance back at Joey. The blonde gave him a weak thumbs up, before returning his attention to the lieutenant. "Hey, don't space out on me." 'Atem' said, pulling Yugi out of his distraction.

"Uh- what?" Yugi said, blinking. "I'd be focused on the mission if we were flying..."

"I was making a joke," Atem chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, are they all this high strung in navigation?"

"No!" Yugi defended, feeling himself grow angry. "We just...take our jobs seriously."

"Right." Atem said, lip twitching. Yugi furrowed his brows and frowned, avoiding that little lip twitch with all his might.

"Attention, duelists." an officer with a tablet stopped them. "Here is the layout for your quarters. You will be assigned to room two-twenty-six, on level nine."

Yugi looked it over. They had linked rooms; meaning a sliding door was keeping them separate. That was convenient- Yugi would feel much more comfortable in his own room. They would share a bathroom, however. After memorising the coordinates, he was ready to set out. Atem was right on his heels, much too close for Yugi's comfort. As they boarded the lift, he noticed Joey standing in front of a tall, slim, brunet pilot. The doors closed, and Yugi wished his friend a silent 'good luck'.

"So, let's make things simple," Atem said, leisurely propping his elbow on one of the walls. "You do whatever I say, I follow your directions. Got it?"

Eyes widening, Yugi bit back a growl. "No."

"Oh, thank god!" Atem said, breaking into a fit of laughter. Yugi didn't understand why he was laughing, and raised an eyebrow. "Had you agreed, I would've critised you." Atem laughed, taking a step toward Yugi. "I think you have fine potential as a partner, shortstack."

"My name is Yugi," the navigator all but seethed, crossing his arms. "You will not make fun of my height so long as we're working together."

"Sure," Atem said, dismissively waving his hand. "And you can call me the pharoah."

"What the fuck?" Yugi started to ask, but the doors swished open, announcing their arrival on the ninth floor. The pair walked in silence, Yugi counting down the doors as Atem seemed to wander off in his thoughts. Did he seriously have to work with this pilot during the mission? Yugi let himself lose count and began to wonder how his friends were doing. He'd have to ask them tomorrow.

Without warning, a hand latched around his arm. Yugi instantly flinched, ready to attack. Atem looked at him and snorted, it turned out he was the one holding Yugi's arm. "This is our room." Atem smirked, letting go. Yugi bristled, feeling himself go red in the face. After typing in their access code, Atem bowed before Yugi. "Your palace, your highness."

"I thought you were the pharoah," Yugi scoffed, stepping inside.

"I am," Atem grinned, "And I just made you admit it."

Well, shit.

...

The next morning, Yugi was almost erupting with questions to ask. The moment Joey walked into the port, he almost ran right at him. "Good morning to you, too." Joey huffed, looking exhausted. Yugi frowned.

"Oh no," he mumbled, "Please tell me you weren't stuck with a total jerk."

Joey's face went red at the last word, his gaze heading for the floor. Yugi didn't have time to ask why, when Tristan came in looking slightly more happy than usual. "Hello! It's a wonderful morning, isn't it?" Tristan all but sang as he apprached them.

Joey broke into a grin, "Nyeh, you certainly look happy."

Tristan faltered a little bit, cheeks going pink. "Me? What? No."

"You like your pilot," Yugi noted, feeling his michievious grin work itself onto his face.

"Well, he's kind of a whiney bitch." Tristan laughed, shrugging. "But he's okay."

"You're in love! YES. Now you can stop pining over my sister!" Joey let out a triumphant snort, putting his hands on his hips. A couple years ago, Joey's younger sister had gone blind in a shuttle crash. Tristan had looked after her for months, and grew oddly attatched to her. Unfortunately, she was already in love with someone else, and rejected him completely.

"I'm not in love with-" Tristan started to defend, when Ishizu walked into the port. Everyone rushed for their desks, flicking on their consoles to make it look like they'd been working. The lieutenant glared at them, crossing her arms and standing at the front of the room.

"Look, I know you're all excited and-or upset with the current mission." Ishizu said, loudly enough that it silenced the entire port. "But we have our work to do, the war is coming to a close so we best be prepared for any final attacks."

The war. At those words, the navigators instantly booted up their assignments. Since an alien race had attacked Earth back in the year 3102, the operation known as 'Duel Monsters' began. It was now 3170, and the intergallatic war was finally slowing down, the humans on the winning side. Yugi had joined the fleet when he was sixteen, a child prodigy who had aced all of the simulations. He was now twenty-four, and had spent the majority of his adulthood on the station. Yugi had been on the field twice in his life, both times being a success.

And now, the last of the battles were beginning, leaving a bunch of tactics and technical work for the navigators to clean up. That was what they did in port C; clean up.

As he typed away, Yugi wondered what Atem was up to in port B. Probably getting into an argument with somebody. Pilots tended to do that. At the desk beside him, Ryou was solving an equation at light speed, catching Yugi's attention. "Hey," Yugi said, a weak attempt at small talk. "How's your pilot?"

"Hm?" Ryou glanced up from the projected screen, his burgandy eyes seemed to be staring into Yugi's soul. "My pilot is a blundering git who won't stop demanding hugs."

"Oh," Yugi said, dumbfounded. He'd never heard Ryou talk with so much emotion in his voice. It had always been curt, monotone replies from the Brit. "Is he really that bad?"

"Well, he was kind enough to let me scold him. He hasn't tried to kill me, yet, and I've heard he's the most violent the fleet has." Ryou shrugged, still typing even though he was looking at Yugi. "I feel like a lion tamer."

"My pilot thinks he's a pharoah from ancient Egypt," Yugi said, smiling.

"It isn't a bloody contest." Ryou grumbled, going back to his work. Yugi chuckled and turned his attention back to his own console.

When lunch break came, Joey and Yugi went straight for their regular seats in the cafeteria. The navigators, the racers and the technicians shared lunch breaks, which was hardly easy. The station's cafeteria was large enough to house almost eight hundred people, but it was still hectic. There were two people sitting at Yugi's usual table; a tanned young technician with blond hair and violet eyes, and a racer who looked like a slightly older, less innocent version of Ryou. Joey ignored them and sat down, Yugi following suit.

"I'm guessing this is your table?" the albino huffed, revealing he had a British accent as well.

"Yup," Joey replied, getting ready to dig into his meat.

"Do you mind us?" the technician asked, fidgeting in his dark purple uniform.

"Not at all," Yugi smiled, "I'm Yugi, that's Joey. What's your name?"

"Marik," the technician said, proudly. "And you can call him Bakura." Oh, so he was related to Ryou. Yugi figured just as much.

"You two partners?" Joey asked, taking a large mouthful of his meal.

Unlike navigators and aviators, racers and technicians were assigned to inside jobs. That was why there were so few aboard the station, half of them were sent out into enemy lines. Marik gave a loose nod, "Yeah, we were just assigned last week."

"It's been hell," Bakura grunted, taking a mouthful of soup.

"Shut up, fluffy." Marik said, rolling his eyes. "He's a lot friendlier if you get to know him."

Yugi wasn't so convinced, but gave a short nod of agreement. "We were just assigned pilots yesterday. It's interesting having a partner."

"Oh, that's right." Bakura muttered, "You must've gotten stuck with Atem."

"How'd you guess?" Yugi blinked, eyes going wide.

"I'm psycic, you dumbass." Bakura drawled, sarcasm dripping with his every word. "You look just like the guy. Except you're shorter."

"Ooh, I wouldn't go thee I were you." Joey said, looking up from his food.

Yugi ignored the insult and sighed, "It's fine. I'm used to it."

"Ya almost broke my kneecaps when I joked about it!" Joey exclaimed, just a bit too loudly.

Marik and Bakura exchanged a look of surprise mixed with fear. Before Yugi could protest, a familar siren went off. Red alert. Joey stood, gesturing for Yugi to follow him. Red alert meant navigators and aviators were to report to the ships.

When they reached the dock, Atem was already there, waiting for Yugi. Next to him was the brunet that Yugi assumed was Joey's pilot, a poker face in tact. "Alright, mutt, let's get going." Joey frowned as the pilot addressed him, biting back a retort. Yugi watched them go, but quickly snapped his attention back to Atem.

"We're getting on that one," Atem nodded at a fighter ship that looked to be in good condition. "That's Slifer- she's mine."

"Right," Yugi mumbled, following the pilot to the fighter. By the time they'd climbed into the cockpit, a loud speaker was announcing their instructions.

"Enemy vessles are carrying weapons, you must destroy and return to base."

Yugi felt himself grow nervous, readying his navigation board. From here, he'd be able to warn Atem where to aim. The ship jolted, and then they were flying off into the open space. Swallowing, Yugi prepared himself for what was coming. He was going to treat this like a simulation, one that he couldn't fail. Enemy ships came into view on the navi-board, "Atem, fire at five kilometers southeast."

"Got it," Yami said, and the missles shot off. The vessle exploded, making room for another one to charge right at them.

"Shields up!" Yugi called, flicking them on. "Aim directly eight-point-seven kilometers southeast. Now!"

The enemy vessle fired, missing them by inches. Atem fired, and the attacker erupted into an explosion. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Atem cried, swerving the ship around.

"Fire northwest!"

Explosion.

"You're covered on the left, so fire right!"

Double explosion.

Soon, there was only one ship left. Atem didn't even need Yugi's order, he fired with ease. "Oh my god, we were on fire!" Atem cried, turning over in his seat to look at Yugi.

Hands clapsed on his heart, Yugi took three deep breaths before meeting Atem's gaze. "We did it!" he exclaimed, "You were so fast! It's like you knew what I was thinking!"

Atem let out a soft, earnest smile. Yugi gulped, seeing as he'd only ever seen the pilot look like a smug bastard. "We make a good team, Yugi."

"Yeah," Yugi blushed, looking at the ground. Atem went back to flying, bringing them back to the dock. The moment the cockpit opened, Yugi heard applause.

"That was brilliant, team!" Lieutenant Valentine said, "You two wiped out more than ten enemy ships, today."

Atem smile turned back to smug, he jumped out of the cockpit and gave a salute. "Don't thank us, ma'am, it's all in a day's work. Right, Yugi?"

Yugi climbed out of the pit, nodding. "Uh-huh."

The lieutenant rolled her eyes, "Well, your 'day's work' just earned you priveledges to use the rec room, and Yugi here gets to use the coffee machine upstairs."

"Sweet!" Yugi and Atem said in unison, sharing a stupified look afterwards.

"Keep up the good work," Valentine chuckled, turning on her heel and leaving.

As a group of pilots swarmed Atem to congratulate him, Yugi made his way for the other navigators, who were regarding him with envy. Joey and his pilot were still talking, and Yugi couldn't help but listen in.

"Why're ya blaming me for the fact they killed enemy ships?"

"Because, mutt, you could've gotten that free coffee just as easily if you had asserted yourself."

"Nyeh, for the last time- I ain't no ones mutt! Now why don'tcha go fuck yourself?"

"You better make sure we do better, next time."

Yugi watched the pilot walk away, shocked at how he hadn't slapped Joey or anything. Most aviators were agressive when it came to insults, and yet there Joey was, standing up to a man twice Yugi's height and getting away with it. Unbelievable.

"Hey, Yug." Joey mumbled, slumping as he walked over. "Kaiba is a real pain in the ass. Ya did well out there, by the way."

"That's your pilot's name? Kaiba?" Yugi watched the tall man disapear into the crowd of aviators. "He's freaking terrifying! How are you still alive?"

"He ain't scary, he's just a wimp." Joey scoffed, "He's such a rude little prick. The fucker had the nerve ta push me outta the shower this mornin' so he could get a longer one!"

"Ew, I didn't need that mental image!" Yugi groaned, trying to shake the thought out of his head and as far away as possible.

"Sorry," Joey laughed, ruffling Yugi's hair. "Nyeh, you're pretty lucky. Getting coffee priveledges like that."

"No, I am not sharing." Yugi warned him, batting Joey's hand away. "Now, come on, we should get back to port."

As they started to leave, Yugi couldn't help but glance back at where Atem had been standing. He was surprised when the pilot looked up at him, locking their gazes. For a small eternity, that was all Yugi saw. Atem. Standing there and looking at him. When he looked away, Yugi realised he'd been blushing. Well, that was weird.