Beautiful. He's beautiful when he smiles.

"Beautiful" was not a word Yugi normally associated with the male gender. But in this case, he couldn't have said which particular individual it applied to more.

Jounouchi was a person he was almost intimately familiar with; not in the physical sense, but purely mental and even, to some extent, spiritual. Yugi had seen him go from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other; ecstatic, determined, hopeless, despairing. The sight in front of him was still a little surprising, and as happy as he was determined to be for his closest friend, a small upwelling of hurt found its way to the surface. Jounouchi hadn't told him.

As quickly as it had appeared, though, the hurt was sublimated by the smile spreading across Yugi's face. Jounouchi just looked so happy. It was impossible to be angry or disappointed when confronted with the expression of naked, vulnerable joy on his friend's face.

For a brief moment, he was forcibly reminded of the incident during the finals of the Battle City tournament; Jounouchi's death and subsequent reawakening had only strengthened his appreciation of the first true, flesh-and-blood friend he'd ever really had. As Jounouchi was devoted to protecting his sister, Yugi had decided to give whatever protection and support he could to Jounouchi. And it would be returned. His smile widened, just a little.

The other person in the room was another matter entirely. Well, part of him was another matter, and the rest of him… It was confusing. Ryou Bakura was confusing. Right now, with his eyes wide, his face lit by some inner emotion, his posture angled towards Jounouchi, and his entire being expressing only simple joy and pleasure in the company of one he obviously cared for a great deal, it was easy to forget the rest of Bakura. But the slightest shift around his eyes, a change in the shadows among the strands of his hair, and he bore a resemblance to the creature who had taken him over, body and soul for… something. Yugi had no idea what the ulterior motives of the creature inhabiting the Ring were; sometimes he wasn't even sure it really existed.

No, that wasn't right.

Sometimes he wasn't sure Ryou Bakura really existed, or if he was just another facet of the egomaniacal creature that had lurked inside the perfect golden circle for millennia. True, Ryou's spirit had appeared. Possibly. Once. Yugi didn't entirely trust Ryou Bakura; every time he thought that Ryou was safe, it had shown up once again. Persistent, it was. Come to think of it, Ryou had shown persistence as well. He'd been hovering around Jounouchi for months, now. Carefully making sure he didn't attract notice. Yugi had been suspicious. Now, though, he thought this might be the reason for Ryou's increased presence within the group.

He still found it very difficult to dismiss his misgivings.

As he watched, Ryou closed his eyes, and leaned his head on Jounouchi's shoulder. Jounouchi wrapped his arms more tightly around his partner, and dropped a kiss on the top of his fluffy white hair. Yugi melted. Suspicious of Ryou or not, no one was immune to the expression of absolute contentment on his friend's face. He wanted to go back to the rest of the group – Honda and Anzu and Otogi – without alerting the couple to his presence, but he stepped on a dry stick and it snapped beneath his slight weight.

Jounouchi and Ryou jumped apart, Ryou landing in the shade. Sunlight shattered in Jounouchi's hair as he brought a hand up behind his head. "Y-Yugi?" He was blushing. So was Ryou; the poor boy looked almost as if he wished he could sink into the ground of the park and disappear.

Yugi smiled. "Jounouchi-kun! We were wondering where you went."

"We, ah, we were…" Jounouchi floundered, obviously nervous, afraid his closest friend would reject him. Or something similar.

"It's okay. I think you guys make a great couple." So it wasn't exactly the truth. He'd be watching Ryou Bakura, just in case he did anything that might hurt Jounouchi. Not that Jounouchi was incapable of taking care of himself, of course.

"You do?" Jounouchi blinked.

"Did you think I wouldn't approve or something?" Yugi shook his head. "That's silly, Jounouchi-kun. You're my friend. And I like Bakura-kun. I'm not going to brush you off because you're dating another boy."

Yugi felt his ribs creak under the rough hug Jounouchi gave him. "Thanks," Jounouchi whispered.

He returned the embrace. "There's no reason to thank me."

Jounouchi let go suddenly. "Ryou…"

The quiet boy had been standing a few feet away, his face betraying trepidation and uncertainty. "You… you don't mind?" he asked shyly.

"Of course not, Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled as warmly as he could. Part of Ryou, at least, was warm and open and trustworthy. And he supposed that was true of all people. Everyone had their darker moments; it was just that, in Ryou, it was more strongly separated from what everyone saw as normal. "I want you and Jounouchi-kun to be very happy together."

The smile Jououchi turned on him was almost as radiant as the one he'd had for Bakura only a few minutes earlier. Yugi couldn't help grinning, now, in the light of his friend's sincere approval and relief.

"Hey, Yugi." Jounouchi squeezed Bakura's hand briefly, and let go. "Race ya back to the others!"

The afternoon sun shone down on the newly empty and tranquil clearing, on the grass so recently disturbed, and through the sounds of the group of teenagers enjoying the heat and the summer in a completely innocent and happy moment.