Work Text:
"Jeremy Knox," declared Dermott, hands on her hips. "Your hair is long and greasy, and I'm sick of seeing you in a man bun."
Jeremy looked up from where he was sitting in the common room, his legs crossed as he sat on the couch. "Er... constructive criticism, maybe?"
Laila took a moment. "Get. It. Cut."
Jeremy huffed. "What's wrong with it? My mom said it looked fine!"
Sara was sitting at the table and she snorted, covering her mouth. "Oh, honey ."
Laila cocked her head. "Your mon said it looked fine. Well, nobody else agrees. Just get it cut, a little. Remember when you had that undercut? That was slick."
"So… I should get another undercut?"
"You should get rid of whatever Chewbacca-lookin’ thing is going on here anyway."
Jeremy sighed, long suffering. "Fine. Where's the nearest barbers?"
Sara reached into her purse, pulling out a card from her wallet. It was a red, white, and blue loyalty card, for 'La Coiffe', what must have been a hair salon or a barber. "I usually go to this one- they do a bang up job considering they don't usually do girls' hair. Would ya use my card and get me closer to my free haircut, Knox?"
Jeremy took it off her gently, snorting. "Anything for you, Alvarez."
Jeremy pushed the door to the barbers open gently, huffing as the bell above it jingled to signify his arrival. The place smelled fantastic though, and he cleared his throat as he approached the desk.
A few men were working, and one looked in Jeremy's direction. The man had jet black hair, stylishly mussed back and thick stubble neatly shaped and complimenting his dark eyes. He smiled. Friendly.
"Take a seat, I'll be with you in a moment."
Jeremy nodded and then took a seat, taking out his phone to let Sara know that he was there.
Eventually, he saw the man bring his customer to the desk. The customer paid, and the man quickly brushed the floor. Jeremy didn't notice him waiting until he cleared his throat.
"Sir? You would like a hair cut?"
"Uh, yes please! My friends said I should get an uh... an undercut?"
The man nodded, but Jeremy didn't move.
"You... can come over and take a seat, sir."
"Oh! Thanks." Jeremy went red and then sat down quickly.
The man grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around Jeremy's neck, propping him upright in the seat. Jeremy could see his name tag in the mirror- Jean. Jean crossed his arms. "An undercut? What number?"
"I think... two? Three?"
"We'll go with a three. See what you think then, yeah?" Jean reached for the razor, fitting a different head onto it. He hummed to himself as he did so. "Do you want the fringe cut?"
"Uh... just do whatever you think will look good?"
Jean snorted. "Whatever I think will look good. What if you hate it?"
"Then I'll... keep it to myself and thank you anyway?"
Jean chuckled. "You know, your honesty is refreshing. I will do my best."
He pulled out his scissors, starting to trim the ends of Jeremy's long hair, quickly shortening it. He ran his hands through the man's locks, using clips to hold the strands in place.
Jeremy relaxed into the chair, watching Jean work in the mirror. He was handsome, and his accent was ridiculously endearing. Jean chopped down a layer or two of Jeremy's hair, brushing it off onto the floor. He pushed the rest of Jeremy's hair to the side, holding his head up with his hands and looking intently into the mirror. "You are from around here?"
"A couple of blocks over." Jeremy smiled softly. "I live down on 10th, you? I mean, obviously you're French but."
"Is it that obvious? I was hoping my accent had gotten a little less ambiguous." Jean chopped another layer off of Jeremy's hair, the man's sudden jerky movements making him wince slightly.
Jeremy whined softly, but then smoothed out his expression. "It's cute, don't worry."
" Cute? " Jean snorted. "Boys don't usually call each other cute. Head up, please."
"What do you mean? I always call people cute."
Jean pressed his hand under Jeremy's jaw, lifting his head up. "Really? Alright. For a moment, I almost thought I was special."
Jeremy went a faint pink. "Uh, I mean..."
"What do you think?" Jean ran his thumb along the side of Jeremy's head, under the flop of his fringe. "I'm going to shave up to here. A two. Give you a fade. Your thoughts?"
Jeremy only reddened more, and then nodded. "Whatever you say!"
"Whatever I say. At this point I feel like you would not give a damn if I just shaved it all off."
Jeremy huffed. "I wouldn't go that far."
"Do you mind if I try something new?"
"Uh... what is it?"
"I want to do... euh... like, lines, in your hair."
"... Lines?"
"Shave a design on the sides. You know? Like a football pitch."
Jeremy bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't want to laugh at Jean trying to explain his idea- mostly because it would be rude, but also because he found it cute. "I don't... sure, okay!"
Jean tied Jeremy's hair up again then started shaving the sides, leaning in close at times. "Do you work in town?"
Jeremy blushed and cleared his throat. "Me and my friends work part time in the city, but we're in college full time."
"That's cool. I could not afford the course I wanted, so I took a barber training thing instead." Jean hummed and took a minute to look Jeremy over. "Do you want to keep a fringe? I think your hair would look nice up."
"What do you mean, up?"
"Sticking up. Styled up." Jean pushed Jeremy's fringe up, thinking. "I could cut it."
"You should cut it!"
"Okay."
Jean started doing so, grabbing the scissors to further cut down the length until the fringe was gone. He then went back to shaving the sides until it came out as a slick undercut. Jean took a razor blade to shape it neatly.
"Mm. Yeah?"
Jeremy found that he actually liked it. "You really know what you're doing, huh."
"If it makes you happy then I am doing my job right, sir."
Jeremy went pink again. "You don't have to call me sir! My name is Jeremy."
"That doesn't seem professional."
" Fuck professional." Jeremy shook his head. "Just call me Jeremy... Jee- anne ?"
He absolutely butchered the pronunciation, but it was pretty cute.
Jean chuckled lowly as he started shaving orderly lines into Jeremy's hair. "You can just call me John, if that's easier.”
"But that's not your name. Jon?" He tried again. "Jen?"
Jean almost giggled. "Stop it... here, what do you think?" He tilted Jeremy's head to show him the sides in the mirror.
"Oh shit, that looks cool." Jeremy grinned, and then paled. "Shit, sorry for swearing."
"You just did it again, handsome." Jean chuckled. "It's okay, I've heard it all, really."
"Still. It’s rude. Also, people should say your name right! Jean? "
It was a lot closer that time, to be fair.
"That was good." Jean grinned. "This style suits you, Jeremy."
Jeremy beamed at him. "You're too sweet."
"Do you want me to trim... this?" Jean gestured to the light stubble that had grown along Jeremy's chin and cheeks. It was growing in unevenly, too.
"Uh... yes please!"
Jean shaved it quickly with the blade, smiling when it was done. "Perfect. You look great, don't you agree?"
"You think so?"
"Mmhm."
Jean used a small brush to go around his head and brush off any loose strands of hair, and when Jeremy looked in the mirror he thought he resembled a totally different person. His hair definitely suited his face structure a lot more when it was short, and he looked... fresh.
"Holy shit, I look good ."
"If you think that about yourself, then I did my job right. You do look good."
Jeremy grinned brightly. "Yeah?"
"Mm. You're done, I think."
Jean undid the cloth around Jeremy's neck, and turned the chair to let him up. Jeremy nodded and then stretched a little. He was a lot shorter than Jean, but he made up for it with personality. "What's the damage?"
"Will fifteen dollars break your banks?"
The messing up of the saying was cute in Jean's accent. Jeremy snorted. "No, not at all."
He pulled out the fifteen and handed it to jean, thanking him again before going to the counter to leave a tip. Jean counted the money, distracted for a moment. Jeremy quickly scribbled his number on a business card, leaving his name and a - For Jean :) before dropping that into the tip jar too.
Jean went a little red when he saw Jeremy putting money in the tip jar. "Merci. Do you want a loyalty card?"
Jeremy fumbled for his wallet. "Actually- my friend gave me hers, to get stamped."
Jean nodded, stamping it. "One haircut closer to a free one, hm?"
"Yeah, I'll make sure to come here again!"
“I'm sure you will,” said Jean with a grin. “Have a lovely day, Jere.”