Yami stared at the box on the ground.
A new shipment had arrived which included a package of fragile gaming figurines, each carefully wrapped so it wouldn't break. He just didn't know what they were wrapped in.
"What is this?" he asked Yugi.
"Ooh, it's bubble wrap!"
"Bubble wrap?"
"Yeah, it's really fun to pop! Watch-" Yugi took a sheet, placed his forefinger on top of a bubble and his thumb beneath it, and squeezed. A sound like a gunshot came from the sheet, causing Yami to jump.
Yugi grinned. "Scared you, didn't it?"
"I just wasn't expecting it, that's all," he scoffed, looking away. Yugi giggled.
A second later the door opened, revealing Joey, Téa and Tristan. "'Ey Yug', what's up?"
Yugi turned his head toward them with a big, bright smile. "Hey, you guys came!"
"Whadda ya think we'd do, go ta Pegasus' place?"
"What's going on?" asked Téa.
"Oh, a new shipment came in. There are these cool figurines, kind of like what Bakura has, only smaller and more detailed- without the souls, though!" he laughed nervously. "Anyways, I was just showing Yami the bubble wrap they came in."
"Bubble wrap? Lemme have a piece!" Joey immediately grabbed a sheet, wadded it into a ball, and crushed it between his hands.
"Ha, that's nothing!" said Tristan. "Watch this!" He picked up a sheet and twisted it, making several dozen bubbles pop in quick succession.
"Well, watch this!" Joey grabbed a sheet and put it in front of his feet. He then proceeded to do a dance on top of it that was reminiscent of the River Dance.
Téa picked up a sheet and pulled it down on Joey's head. Surprisingly, it caused a dozen or so bubbles to pop. "You guys! We're going to make a mess!"
"But… it's so much fun…" Joey whimpered.
"You know what's really fun? If you tape it down to a DDR pad…" Tristan said.
"Really? We should try that some day…" Said Yugi.
"It sounds like Téa's way of popping bubble wrap," said Joey. He was promptly smacked upside the head by none other than the previously mentioned girl as they walked into the house proper.
Yami stayed behind, looking at the bubble wrap on the floor. It didn't sound like fun, really, popping bubbles, but watching them do it made him want to try for some reason… He picked up a sheet. Looked at it. Crinkled it. Stretched it between his hands. Gave it his most withering glare. It did nothing. Finally, he took his thumb and forefinger, placed one on top of a bubble and the other beneath it… and squeezed.
"What was that?" asked Téa.
"I'm making popcorn- be right back!"
Sure enough, there was a faint popping noise. Yami smiled an "I-have-a-cunning-plan" smile.
First, he crushed it into a ball and tried popping the bubbles the way Joey did. Joey must have practiced on that a lot, because he wasn't quite as successful. He twisted it, with only a little more success. He clapped his hands over the sheet with less success than his first attempt. Finally he lost all patience with the blasted thing, threw it to the ground and stomped on it.
"Smile, Yami- you're on Candid Camera!"
"Wha-AARGH!" He looked up, only to be blinded. When his eyesight cleared, he saw Joey and Tristan watching him intently while eating popcorn, Yugi in a silent fit of the giggles, and Téa holding one of those small boxes they called a "camera". He spluttered. "I- I was- well- you enjoyed it, too! I was just curious! Ah- er-"
"Stop -giggle- worrying -snort- so much -laugh-!" Yugi said, with poorly suppressed laughter. After a minute he calmed down. "Everyone likes bubble wrap; it's not a big deal."
Yami would've believed him- until he heard Yugi's friends talking.
"Who would've imagined- the great Pharaoh, easily amused by bubble wrap!" exclaimed Tristan.
"It's almost as unlikely as Kaiba giggling while being tickled by a feather!" Joey added.
"This is going straight on my LiveJournal!" said Téa.
"'Not a big deal'?" Yami demanded.
"Well… it is funny," Yugi admitted. "But everyone likes bubble wrap."
"Everyone except Kaiba, " said Joey.
"That's not even worth mentioning," said Tristan. "I'd be surprised if he was easily amused by anything."
"That's for sure."
Several miles away, a severe-looking brunette was inspecting a package of fragile components. He slowly looked to the left and right before removing something from the box: a little plastic sheet with pockets of air. He applied pressure to these pockets with much amusement
A minute later, the door opened. "Hey, Seto… Did you hear anything?"
"No," he replied, setting the object back into the box, "it was probably just the wind."