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Jeremy Knox was a person who wore a smile as bright as the Californian sun itself. He wore it like a second skin. Always there. Bright enough to light up an entire room even after a stressful game. And toothy. But that smile was never Jean's favorite. It was so bright. No. It wasn't the smile Jean loved. But the small private grin. The one that made his blue eyes sparkle like the horizon upon sunrise. The one that made his soft lips look even softer. The one that made him look like a marble statue of Apollo himself. The soft smile that graced Jeremy's lips when he truly is happy and at ease. It was rare. But it was there and Jean remembered it all too well.
Jean Moreau wasn't a person who smiled. Why? One might ask. The answer was simple. Because he never had a reason to smile. Not for a long time. When he was a little boy in Marseille who ran toward the beach, eager to feel the sand beneath his feet, he used to laugh. Bright pealing laughter that was as loud as the child he once was.
Then the Nest became a part of his life and laughing became another thing that was just as far from his reach as true happiness was. Renee Walker and her kind hearted friendship eventually lead him to California and slowly, he learned that there are many things that made him want to smile. Heck, there were even things that made him want to laugh and it was terrifying. Trojans did everything with a smile. Be it on their lips or in their eyes or voices. And that smile slowly made its way into Jean himself. Maybe what they say about smile is true, maybe it really was infectious. Or maybe, therapies really were good for him.
Jean Moreau became a person who hid his smile behind a scowl. But the Trojans and specially Jeremy, saw right through it. They saw his happiness in the silvery gleam of his gray eyes and they saw his happiness in the slight twitching of the corners of his lips. But they never heard him laugh. None of them except one. One particular pesky ray of sunshine of a captain.
Everyone always considered Jean as a quiet person. But Jeremy knew better. He knew that the quietness was an armor for Jean. That he was so quiet because he wanted less attention. But that wasn't even the complete truth. Jeremy's boyfriend loved attention. Just not the sort of attention that brought him pain. That gave him scars. But the sort of attention Laila gave him when she offered him her candy bars and books. The sort of attention Sara gave when she brought him that hideous yet super comfortable yellow hoodie that said 'Je sui sick of this shit'. The sort of attention Jeremy gave with soft kisses across his collarbone and behind his ear. The sort of attention that made him truly smile.
It was Sara's fault. It always was her fault. Stupid Jerseys that made Jeremy look like a fucking teddy bear and stupid tank tops that made him look like the stupidly well built athlete that he is and most dreadfully, a onesie that Jeremy kept hiding from him.
"Wait till it's cold enough for a onesie my love. Will you?" He asked with the biggest fucking blue eyes and of course Jean agreed . And now, he's been sitting on the couch for ten minutes listening to the stupid storm that was brewing outside and waiting for Jeremy to reveal his 'Fabulous and comfy onesie' in Alvarez's words.
Five more minutes of waiting and Jean was this close to go check if Jeremy tripped his way to death in the bathroom. And the door opened. For the first time in a decade, Jean exploded in laughter.
Because, standing on the doorstep was Jeremy. Wearing an utterly ridiculous onesie that resembled Winnie the Pooh. With a button nose on the top and everything.
Jeremy took a mental note to thank Sara later. No matter how ridiculous he looked at that moment, the utter glee on Jean's face and the bright pealing laughter that echoed through the dorm room was worth it.