A/N: Title: Ping-Pong
Summary: Jack doesn't know how to play, so North decides to teach him and somehow Tooth, Bunny and Sandy end up at the Pole. Fluff, humor and family-togetherness ensue. Purely a feel-good type story.
This will most likely be part 1 of like, 10 or something LOL.
Jack Frost sucked at Ping-Pong.
North found that out the harder way, when Jack came up from exploring North's workshop, his blue eyes twinkling and smiling widely. "North, hey, North!" He called. "Look what I found!"
He realized North was busy and most likely didn't want to be bothered, so when North came into the room, Jack shrugged it off. "It was nothing," he told him.
North eyed him suspiciously, then spotted the armload of Ping-Pong paddles, balls, and net Jack held.
North smiled. "Do you know how to play Ping-Pong? It's a lot of fun."
Jack shook his head shyly. "I don't even think it was around back then."
"It wasn't around when I was human, but I'm good at keeping up with the latest crazes," North replied.
Jack blinked. "North, it was never a craze."
"Bah, well," North replied. "Would you like to learn how to play?"
Jack said shyly, "If you're not too busy making toys, I'd love to learn from you."
North smiled at him, grabbed up a paddle and flagged down the nearest yeti; Jack was strongly reminded of somebody hailing a cab. "Get us Ping-Pong table, now!" He said importantly and the yeti ran downstairs, and next second he and five other fellows were dragging it upstairs, gripping it by the legs and net.
"Careful!" North chastised. "Don't hurt it!"
"Okay, Jack." He said when the yetis were gone. "The point of this game is to do like so…" he served the ball. "Hit it with your paddle after it bounces once…" he hit it. "And then hope to God it bounces on the table on the other side."
"And you hit it back and if it bounces on this side and I miss it, you get a point. If it doesn't hit this side, goes over the table and hits the carpet instead, that makes it that I get a point. Understand?"
"I think so." Jack said, unsure of himself but unwilling to show it.
North served the ball, it bounced on Jack's side and Jack hit it back with too much eagerness, causing it to soar over the table on North's side and hit the carpet.
"One to zip, my favor," North said happily. "We can play up to five, seven, ten or fifteen. Any number you want."
"Seven is fine." Jack said. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need it."
"Very well." North served the ball again, hit it. It hit Jack's side, he hit it gentler this time and it didn't even clear the net.
Jack sighed. "Sorry about that."
"Is fine," North replied impatiently.
Jack served the ball, it made it over the net (barely) and North hit it back.
Jack missed the thing entirely, sighed and said, "Three to zilch, then?"
"Yep," North said, but his happiness was interrupted by Bunnymund, who'd just come up from out of a rabbit hole. "North, I wanted to tell you…something weird…I saw…down in my Warren…"
He trailed off, staring between them. "What are you doing, Frostbite?"
"North was teaching me how to play Ping-Pong," Jack said.
Bunny rolled his green eyes. "If you want to learn, Jack, learn from the master!"
"I AM master!" North said, affronted.
Bunny snorted. "Right. Yeah. Tell you what, let's play a game here, right now and we'll see who's master."
"Me and Jack were in the middle of a game," North said, not looking sorry at all to have missed this opportunity to be shown up by Bunnymund. He was like Jack in that way: he knew Bunny was better than he was at Ping-Pong, but his ego got the better of him.
"Fine," Bunny said. "I'll play afterwards, then, how about?"
"Well, I'd like to see you try, Kangaroo."
"Never mind that now, what weird thing did you see down at your Warren?"
"Oh," Bunny said. "That. Well, actually, I feel kinda stupid, because it wasn't anything big, it was…" he then launched into a story about some flowers and Dreamsand, Jack not really paying attention but North listening to every word. "I see," he said when Bunny was finished. "Is nothing to worry about, I am sure. Let us keep going, Jack, shall we?"
North served this time and Jack flinched away from the ball.
Bunnymund sighed, watching the kid. 'He's pathetic,' Bunny thought to himself. 'He's the worst player I've ever seen!'
"Five to zip, my favor," North crowed happily.
Jack served and it hit the net. "Six to zip."
"Five," North corrected him. "We don't count bad serves. We call a re-serve, then."
"Oh, okay," Jack realized. He took the ball from North and served again. It was only slightly better than last time, because it cleared the net. Nonetheless, North returned it fairly well and Jack returned it back to him.
They kept up a short volley until Jack panicked and snatched the ball from the table before it could bounce.
"Six to zilch," he announced.
"North? North?" Tooth's voice echoed around the North Pole, and Jack said, "Tooth!" He cheerfully threw down his paddle and ran to greet her.
Bunnymund picked up Jack's abandoned paddle and studied it carelessly. "Would you like to play against me, North?"
"Bring it on, Bunnymund," North said with a wildly cocky air.
Bunny brought it on. He served the ball and slammed it against the table as though he wanted to see it die slowly on the plastic white line. North barely managed to duck before it hit the wall, leaving a ball-shaped dent, bounced back on the table and Bunny leaned over and agilely caught it. "One to zilch, my favor."
"Foul!" North argued as Jack and Tooth walked back in.
"How do your teeth stay so white?" Tooth asked. "I mean, I guess you brushed as a human sure, but Jack, you're 300 years old and I don't think they had toothbrushes or toothpaste or anything back then, it's kind of cool the way you're the one with white teeth, it kind of completes the look, don't you think? White skin, white hair, white teeth? It's really sort of…oh, are you guys playing Ping-Pong? We didn't mean to interrupt. Can I have the next turn? Please?"
Jack chuckled at her straight-forwardness.
"Sure," Bunnymund told her.
"Foul!" North cried again.
"Oh, shut up, North, I can't help it that you're a sore loser."
"Who fouled?" Jack asked, only vaguely interested.
"Bunny," North said.
"Bunny, stop fouling," Jack said.
"Wh—I wasn't—ugh!"
The game began again and North took care to avoid where Bunny might throw the ball through a wall again.
"Okay, that is seven to five, North. Want to go to ten?"
"No," he told Bunny grumpily. "I'm alright, thank you."
Bunny grinned. "Alright, Tooth, get up here."
Tooth leaped up from her chair. "Okay. Bring it on, Bunny!"
"You do not want to say that," North warned.
Bunny made another serve like the first one he'd done to North and Tooth hit it back. It bounced on the side of the table, leaving the bunny to stare at the girl. "How come you never…how come I never…?" He trailed off.
Tooth giggled. "I'm good. Better than you think, Bunnymund."
Just then, Sandy wandered in, an image of North and then himself above his head.
"Sandy wants to talk to me, guys," North said. "Will be right back." They went to a backroom and Jack said, "What're they talking about?"
Bunny shrugged. "Alright, c'mon, Tooth."
Five minutes later, Bunny was giving up his paddle with an abashed look and Tooth was celebrating her fifth point. "I rock!" she cried, spinning around. She bashed into the wall, fixed her top feathers and fluttered back down to sit actually on top of the Ping-Pong table.
When North and Sandy came back, Sandy's eyes landed on the Ping-Pong table and the golden irises lit up.
"Do you play?" Jack asked, not missing the look of longing Sandy threw in the table's direction.
"No, he doesn't," Bunny said.
"He's unbeatable," Tooth said.
"Unstoppable," Bunny said.
"Impossible to beat," North added.
Jack chuckled. "Alright, well, go on. Let's see Mr. Unbeatable in action, shall we?"
Sandy picked up a paddle, wiped it on his golden sleeve, then making swings at imaginary balls.
Tooth served and Sandy smacked it so hard Tooth barely had time to swing her paddle before it hit the table then the floor.
She sighed. "One to zilch, Sandy's favor. As usual."
Jack laughed. "That was pretty good."
Sandy did it six more times throughout the course of the game until he'd won, seven to nil.
North suggested Jack play, but Jack put his foot down.
"I suck," he told them. "North saw me play, I'm awful."
"Wasn't bad," North said, trying to be tactful.
"He was pathetic," Bunny said happily. 'God, I can't wait to mock him.'
Jack mouthed something he would never have dared say out loud, then turned away.
Bunny picked up his paddle and said, "C'mon, guys, it's time for me face Unbeatable Sandy."
Sandy smiled and picked up his own paddle, then did another wild serve.