Gift for onews-chicken-line

Gift from ???

Title: Table Tennis Tournament

Pairing(s): MarkJin, slight JackBam

Words: 4246

Rating: None

Warning: None

Note to my giftee: Hey there, how are you? Happy Holidays! I really hope you enjoy this story, I'm unused to writing in 3rd person, so I hope it's alright. Ping pong is here! Have fun :)




Jinyoung was not happy. Once again, he's stuck in his Physical Education class with all the sporty kids who have nothing better to do than work out in their free time, except study, of course, but why would they do that when they could lift weights and punch "nerds"? He was completely puzzled by their behaviour, not that that would help him stop them from laughing at the way his shirt hung off his scrawny frame, or the way his glasses slid down his sweat-coated nose, or his mud coated hands slipping as he tried to stand up after tripping for the 12th time that day. And this was just the warm up.

"Alright kids, I think that's enough laps to start us off. Gather around and I'll tell you what we'll be up to this semester."

Oddly, Jinyoung felt comforted more after hearing these words, just from hearing the comforting tone of his teacher, Coach JYP, who refused to go by any such title because he thought that the honorific system of his country was ridiculous, and that age doesn't earn someone respect. Jinyoung liked Coach JYP, a lot. Probably due to the fact that JYP didn't think Jinyoung was bad at sports, he didn't think Jinyoung was a waste of time, and he refused to tolerate the constant bullying the other kids put Jinyoung through. Also, they had the same name, which was pretty cool in Jinyoung's eyes.

Sending a quick smile in the direction of a tired Jinyoung, JYP addressed his class, "This semester, we're going to be looking at Table Tennis. As I'm sure you're all aware, the Olympics were this year, so in respect for this incredible sporting event, we will be having an Olympic themed Table Tennis Tournament. Each pair will represent a different country. And before you all start getting excited and choosing your partners, they're going to be randomly selected. Each of you, come get one of these cones." 

Suddenly a rush of bodies surged towards JYP, everyone eager to get a cone and find out who their partner would be. Each cone had a numbered sticky note attached, and there were 2 of each number, so everyone wanted to get the same number as their friend, except Jinyoung, who considered himself very much friendless. He took the last cone, numbered 4, and looked around to find his partner. Relief flooded through him as he saw the other cone numbered 4 was in the slim, pale hands of BamBam, who wasn't his friend as such, but he wasn't a bully and he was friendly enough, sympathising with Jinyoung on the odd occasions the two spoke.

"Now remove the sticky note," came the instruction from JYP.

What? Slowly, Jinyoung's shaking hand peeled off the luminous numbered paper to reveal a different number: 7. The entire class began complaining as they saw the trick their coach had played, while they ran around madly to attempt to find their new partner. Although hesitant to move or talk to anyone, Jinyoung joined in, glancing around subtly in order to find out who he'd be working with, hoping that maybe it could still be BamBam, or maybe Youngjae, who had consistently sent smiles his way throughout their classes together. However, when the number 7 caught his eye, and he saw the person holding it, he almost fainted right there. Mark.

"Haha, sorry for tricking you like that, but you guys need to work with different people from time to time. Now pair up!" Poor Jinyoung couldn't bring himself to move in the direction of Mark, terror consumed him as he thought of the the prospect of working with his bully. He was so lost in these terrifying thoughts, he didn't see the elbow coming his direction, and promptly landed on the floor.

"Oops," Mark sneered at the younger man he despised so much, and laughed along with Jackson, his best friend, who obviously approved of the way Jinyoung was being treated. This laughter echoed it's way through the class, until the majority of them were teasing the helpless Jinyoung.

"CLASS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS BEHAVIOUR! You will respect each other, or you will get an F, understood?" Jinyoung had never appreciated the existence of JYP as much as he did in that moment. Silence swept the group, and a few students mumbled apologies, while Mark sulked, but remained quiet. He wouldn't dare sacrifice the only class he had a chance at passing.

"The first round is in two weeks time. Work hard, HWAITING! Class is dismissed." 

The students sullenly walked inside, slightly disappointed at their new project, to be completed without their friends. However, no one was more disappointed than Jinyoung. Or maybe disappointed wasn't the right word, rather he was absolutely terrified. For at least the next two weeks he would have to endure constant torment from his worst enemy: Mark. The blonde, muscular man had not given Jinyoung a moments rest and there was little doubt in Jinyoung's mind that this would continue.

"Jinyoung!" A loud voice pulled Jinyoung from his nightmare-like thoughts. This voice was from JYP, standing outside the locker room and waiting to talk to his favourite student... not that teachers can have favourites. Slowly Jinyoung walked over to his Coach, allowing a small smile to reach his lips as he saw the welcoming grin on the face of JYP. "Jinyoung, I'm really sorry that you had to go through that treatment. I know this guy is a jerk to you, to be frank, he's a jerk to everyone. But if there is a single soul in the world who can help Mark find his respectful, kind self hidden deep down, then it's you. And don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you need his help with the sports side of things." JYP chuckled at this, and Jinyoung did the same, recognising the caring behind the jest, and being able to laugh at his own expense. "Anyway, I'll keep an eye on things, and let me know if it gets too much for you, but I think you've got this. HWAITING!" The two shared a high five, then Jinyoung headed inside to collect his belongings before heading home. He'd never been so thankful that it was the end of the school day. Even with the encouragement from his Coach, Jinyoung was apprehensive about working with Mark.

Just as he reached for the door handle to leave, a shiver ran down his spine due to the leering presence behind him.

"Where do you think you're going? Come with me." And with that, Mark grabbed Jinyoung's wrist and dragged the shaking boy into the nearby gym. Jinyoung considered struggling, but he had no hope against the muscular Mark. The second they entered the previously empty gym, Mark pulled Jinyoung up by his collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Listen kid, you better not lose me this. Now let me see what limited skill I'm working now with." Rolling his eyes, he dropped the boy and headed over to the Table Tennis table at the centre of the room. Picking up a paddle, he indicated Jinyoung should do the same, tapping his foot impatiently. Frightened, Jinyoung scrambled up and grabbed his paddle.

"Let's go!" Mark said, and evil glint in his eye. Serving the small, white ball, he brought his strong arm back and smashed it into the ball, sending it over the net, to bounce off the table at lightening speed and fly far beyond Jinyoung's reach. Staring at the place the ball had bounced, Jinyoung quivered, knowing Mark's skill level was well above his own. 

"So you can't return that? Then we're screwed." Mark sighed, then continued. "You try serving."

Stumbling slightly, Jinyoung hurried to retrieved the ball as quickly as possible, scared of his opposition/team mate. Concentrating harder than he ever had in his life, Jinyoung raised his paddle and threw the ball, adamant that he could hit it. He swung... and missed.

Mark burst out laughing at Jinyoung's futile attempts to play table tennis, as Jinyoung tried again and again to serve the ball, and never once hit it onto the the table. "Okay, I get it, you're ing useless. Stay out of my way and don't let anyone know were associated. Got it?" Jinyoung nodded, and waited for Mark to leave the room before lobbing his paddle away in frustration and running from the building in hope that he could forget table tennis even existed.

~~~~~~~

Two weeks passed quickly for Jinyoung, as he lived an average two weeks with no mention of any kind of sports. Despite this, he was surprised when the time came for him to gather with his classmates in the gym, around the Table Tennis table. Awful, embarrassing memories flooded his mind and he couldn't help looking around for Mark. Eyes met, and Jinyoung felt as though his mind was being pierced by his partner. Mark's glare burnt into Jinyoung's frightful, twitching eyes, until they were brought out of their thoughts by the beginning of the tournament.

"Okay, Class! Welcome to round one of the Olympic Table Tennis Tournament! I trust you have all been preparing well. Let's start off with Jackson and BamBam against Yugyeom and Yerin!" JYP is so enthusiastic about these things.

Jinyoung was considering whether it was fair to mix girls and guys for sports, but the minute he saw Yerin serve the ball, he knew that all the girls in the room were drastically better than himself.

The games continued one after another, and apprehension built in Jinyoung's stomach as he waited for his turn, despite knowing that he wasn't going to have to play, or contribute in any way to the game.

"Jinyoung and Mark, time for you to play! You'll go against Jihyo and Tzuyu!"

Mark sneered, knowing that he could easily win against the two. As Jinyoung stepped up, Mark whispered to him, "Remember what I said, stay out of the way." Jinyoung nodded repeatedly, bowing slightly at the elders orders, then he stepped back, standing as far away from the table as he could.

Mark tossed the ball in the air, before slamming with his paddle so it flew to bounce on the table, then into the wall behind his opposition. Jihyo and Tzuyu jumped back in shock, staring at each other and accepting the loss already. Mark shot serve after serve into the wall, whilst easily returning his opponents weak attempts. In a matter of minutes, he'd won it for his team, Jinyoung watching all of this with his jaw loose in awe of Mark's skill. He hated the guy, but he had to admit he was an amazing player. Probably in more ways than one.

JYP did not look happy at the game, bitterly muttering, "Win for Jinyoung and Mark. You know, Jinyoung, you are allowed to hit the ball." But of course Jinyoung disagreed, he wouldn't dare interfere with Mark's playing. And he didn't need to.

More games continued, until it was the final one of the day, a decider as to who would qualify for the next round: the finals. "Nichkhun and Chansung, you're up against Jinyoung and Mark!" 

Once again, Mark began by serving, slamming it into the wall at immense speed. Aiming for a repeat of the last performance, he served again, only to find it flying back in his direction as Chansung miraculously returned it. A vicious onslaught began, as Nichkhun and Chansung continued to fire the ball back at Mark, who defended single handedly. 

Mark won a point.

Nichkhun and Chansung won a point.

Mark won a point.

Nichkhun and Chansung won a point.

This pattern continued as Mark missed returns from speedy served, whilst his tricky spins managed to evade the paddles of Nichkhun and Chansung. Finally, it was the last point. Mark made the serve at lightning speed, but Nichkhun managed to return it. Mark quickly retaliated, beginning a repetitive rally as the ball bounced over and over on opposite sides of the table, sounding almost like gun shots to Jinyoung's ears.  This carried on, until Mark saw an opportunity, flicking his wrist in attempt to spin the ball out of his opponents' reach. Chansung lunged, hitting the ball with a flick of his own wrist, and the ball went right to the edge of the table, bouncing far beyond Mark's range. Almost in slow motion, it went towards the floor. Only centimetres from winning the point for Nichkhun and Chansung, it seemed out of nowhere to fly back across the table, to bounce, and hit the wall again, crushing the hopes of Nichkhun and Chansung. 

Flabbergasted, everyone turned to see what had happened to the ball. There stood a panting Jinyoung, who dove forward to retrieve the game for himself and Mark. He was staring at his own arm in surprise, having no clue as to how it happened. Silence had cursed the room until suddenly JYP began cheering, smiling at Jinyoung, who had finally achieved something great after years of redundant effort. Mark dropped his paddle in shock, then walked over to a now terrified Jinyoung, before giving him a well deserved high five. Even Nichkhun and Chansung clapped after witnessing Jinyoung spectacular move. 

The entire room burst with the sound of applause. For Jinyoung. He had never felt so appreciated in his entire life as right now. Mark Tuan had given him a high five, for sports. He felt so honoured and blushed at the memory, before confusing flooded his brain as to why he cared what his bully thought of him.

"Well done everyone! The pairs through to the finals in two weeks time are Jackson and Bambam, and Jinyoung and Mark! Prepare well everyone, HWAITING!"

The class slowly dissipated, after everyone had managed to congratulate a startled Jinyoung, until only he and Mark remained.

"Hey, dude, I guess you aren't a complete failure, so, um, thanks for helping me out there. Our competitors are pretty good, even that noodle boy, so maybe we should train together and prepare to beat them all." Mark blushed as he addressed Jinyoung, embarrassed about being rude to him in the past.

Jinyoung was shocked at Mark thanking him, replying with a mumbling of, "Okay, yeah." Then he stumbled into the locker room, legs turned to jelly by Mark. Jinyoung couldn't help feeling pleased that Mark wanted to train with him, even though he hated the guy. This doesn't make any sense and Jinyoung was so confused, but he cares what Mark thinks, and wants to impress him for some reason. As he walked home alone, he thought deeply about the almost accidental shot he had made in the Table Tennis tournament, and couldn't help smile with pride as he remembered Mark's reaction. "Mark will see I'm not so bad!" Jinyoung thought, psyching himself up for the training ahead.

~~~~~~~

There were only 7 days remaining until the semi-finals, and Jinyoung and Mark were in their first training session together. For some reason, Marl had been unable to attend one for the previous week, and Jinyoung was beginning to feel anxious at the limited time ahead to prepare.

"Okay, Mr Ace, let's see your serves now!" Mark chuckled, still seemingly disbelieving at Jinyoung's previous abilities during their last match. He chucked the ball to his younger partner, and waited. Jinyoung threw the ball up, and managed to connect his paddle to it, only to send it to the corner of the room, missing the table completely. It was exactly like the first time he tried to show Mark, and he blushed with embarrassment at his lack of skill.

"What? I thought you were good at this now. Come on, try again." Again, Jinyoung tried, but he missed the table once more. "Urgh, Jinyoung-ah, why are you letting me down now? Let me show you." Jinyoung was shocked at the friendly way Mark addressed him, and even more shocked when, instead of servings the ball at the speed of light, Mark walked around the table to stand beside Jinyoung.

"You need to focus on the ball. I can see that your entire concentration is on the strength your using to move the paddle, you want to hit the ball fast, but you aren't really looking at it, so it's not going to go in the right direction. Watch the ball. Your hand should just follow in the direction you're looking. Try again."

Mark couldn't help thinking how cute Jinyoung looked as his face screwed up in concentration, staring intensely at the ball. He tossed it into the air, his eyes following it, and as it fell, his arm moved and the paddle came to meet it. However, Jinyoung was holding the paddle sideways, and he missed the ball entirely. Mark laughed, almost hysterically, but not in the same way as before. It was a comforting chuckle, that still made Jinyoung blush, much to the younger boy's confusion.

"It looks like you're going to need a lot more help... You concentrate on the ball like before, and I'll help with the paddle." Jinyoung gasped as he felt Mark's large hand encircle his scrawny wrist, and Mark stood close to him, almost pressed to his back. Jinyoung's thoughts were full of confusion, "It seems like Marl thinks nothing of this, but isn't it weird? Or is it weirder how smooth his hand feels, I wish he was holding my hand instead of my wrist, um just if I had to pick one." Jinyoung was trying to convince himself of this, while Mark, who seemed unaffected, was having his own internal struggle.

"Why did I do that? Why am I doing this? It's a good thing he doesn't know I'm gay, he'd probably be freaking out, if he isn't already. Oh my god, he has a nice , I'd never noticed before. Of course I didn't, why would I be looking at this nerd? Anyway, forget it, just show him how to do it then we can go home."

"Throw the ball, Jinyoung-ah." His hand shaking, Jinyoung threw the ball, once again staring at it, managing to pull his thoughts from the boy standing behind him. As the ball fell, he felt Mark smoothly pull his arm forwards, and the ball moved to bounce across the table in the perfect serve. "Nice, now go again." 

Several times this continued, the two boys concentrating on their own roles in completing the serves, until Mark was pulled out of his focus by an odd buzzing sensation in a place he really didn't want to be buzzing at that moment. "Okay, I think you can try some for yourself now!" Mark hurriedly moved away from Jinyoung, hoping to avoid any further always was, as he realised Jinyoung had yet to speak a word. 

Jinyoung's wrist felt strangely cold without Mark's presence as Jinyoung threw the ball up once more, but this time his arm moved itself, almost reflexively, to complete the serve perfectly again.

"Yes, I did it!" Jinyoung almost jumped in the air with joy as he achieved this. 

"Well Done, Jinyoung-ah!" Mark high-fived Jinyoung, then moved across the table to face him. "Shall we try to play now. You can do the arm motion now, just carry it on to return the ball!" Mark's mouth was saying these words, but his thoughts were stuck on the brilliant smile Jinyoung had when he had completed the serve on his own.

Jinyoung served the ball perfectly, but Mark of course could easily return it. However, Jinyoung managed to return as well, and a fierce rally began. Back and forth the ball went, until Mark used his tricky spin shot and the ball flew well beyond Jinyoung's reach. Grinning, Mark said, "I'll show you how to do that tomorrow, let's call it a night for now. See you Jinyoung-ah!" Then Mark high-fived the boy again, before leaving.

Stunned, Jinyoung remained in his place, so confused at the sudden friendliness and respect from his elder. Shaking his head, he finally managed to move and left for the evening, weirdly buzzing with excitement for tomorrow.

~~~~~~~

Over the next few days, Jinyoung and Mark met frequently to practice. As Mark helped improve Jinyoung's skill, and they became more evenly matched, Jinyoung's confidence grew, and he managed to converse with his elder, eventually agreeing to call him hyung.

Throughout their training sessions, they ended up discussing many things, finding they both shared common interests, such as dancing, and rap music. Mark almost felt comfortable telling Jinyoung anything, and considered telling him that he was gay, despite never telling anyone before! But he didn't, because he was scared. What he didn't know was that that was another thing they shared in common.

That week was filled with days of enjoyable conversations, unnecessary skinship, and dramatic improvement in the table tennis department, as well as sleepless nights of confusion, anticipation, and unnecessarily long showers.

~~~~~~~

Finally, the day has arrived. The day of the tournament. Simultaneously, the jaws of the entire class dropped as they saw Mark and Jinyoung enter together, enthusiastically discussing the new album they had listened to together the previous night after hours of strenuous training. Whispers followed as rumours spread, and Mark hurriedly left Jinyoung to talk to Jackson, who seemed to be equally as talkative with his own partner, BamBam.

"Settle down, class, it's time for the big game! Team MarkJin against Team JackBam!" JYP smiled at his own genius in creating the cheesy nicknames for the teams, whilst the majority of the class groaned. However, his grin widened when he didn't fail to notice the reactions of the teams in question. Jinyoung was shyly smiling while staring at the ground. Mark blushed and looked away. Jackson grabbed BamBam's hand. BamBam clutched tightly back, pleased with Jackson's gesture. "This assignment worked out pretty well," JYP thought to himself.

The two teams stepped up to the table, and shock swept through the room again as Jinyoung took the ball in his hand, preparing to serve. He tossed up the ball, and smoothly, yet quickly, moved his arm, so the ball sped towards his opponents, almost equal to Mark's. Jackson was shocked and allowed the ball to speed past him, however, BamBam was alert and skidded backwards to meet the ball just in time, returning the ball to the other side of the table. It was Mark's turn to step up, quickly he flicked his wrist, spinning the ball and winning an early point for his team, celebrating with a high five.

But there was still a long way to go.

BamBam's serve was easily returns, and the rally continued until Jackson slammed it at an extraordinary speed, winning a point. 

Mark smirked as he served, acing it and winning another point immediately.

The game seemed to go on forever as both teams were skilled and desperate to win! Points were gained by both sides equally, until they were tied with one point left to win. Just like in the last game, this round was the decider.

And it was Jinyoung's turn to serve.

The boy started to panic as he realised what was at stake here, he needed to win. Expecting Mark to put pressure on him and push Jinyoung to win, Jinyoung was surprised when Mark put an arm around his shoulder and began to whisper in his ear, "You've got this Jinyoung-ah, I know you have, you've improved so much this week, and I believe in you. So show these people what you've got. Just go with our gameplan."

The crowd tensed, ready for the incredibly fast serve Jinyoung would play, to begin the infinitely long rally that would decide the game. Jinyoung threw the ball, and brought his arm back. BamBam and Jackson stepped back, preparing to return the serve. Mark smirked.

As the ball fell, Jinyoung's arm slowed, and he brought it so he barely tapped the ball. It fell onto the opposite side of the table, bounced, then bounced again. The lack of speed reduced its momentum, so it never reached the opposition.

Mark and Jinyoung had won, all due to Jinyoung's idea which had won him a training match against Mark the previous day... The first time he had ever beaten his elder.

Exhilaration filled the two boys as they rushed to hug each other, not caring about the now cheering crowd that surrounded them. Mark began his whispering again, "Thank you, Jinyoung-ah, thank you. I'm so proud of you! We did it!"

"Thank you for teaching me, Mark-hyung! I'm proud of us too!" Jinyoung's soft voice was like music to Mark's ears, and an all too familiar sensation flooded through him. As he struggled to get away, Jinyoung clung tighter to him. The sensation was overpowering, and now Jinyoung could very much tell what was going on in Mark's mind, as it was poking his thigh. 

Chuckling slightly, Jinyoung made the boldest move of his life, whispering even softer, and in a slightly husky tone, "So I guess I'm not the only gay one here... Maybe we have a bit more training to do together... When everyone else is gone... In the locker room shower." Both boys blushed as these words left Jinyoung's lips, but both of them knew that Mark could not refuse Jinyoung's offer...

There were many more sleepless nights to come... 

Make of that what you will.

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