Chapter Text
“Hi, I’m Jeremy Knox.”
Jean looked from Jeremy’s bright face to the hand he held out, before slowly clasping hold of it.
“We’ve met before, there’s no need for the formalities.”
Jeremy laughed like Jean had said the funniest thing ever. The first thing Jean noticed about him was that he had the type of laugh that could induce smiles.
When he glanced over at Reneé, she was smiling widely at Jeremy.
But Jean wasn’t one for smiling, or laughter. His face remained blank as he tried to work out what was so funny about what he said.
“Too right, the first time was at the winter banquet right?” Jeremy ran a hand through his blonde hair.
Jean simply nodded his head. His only memory of the night he had first met Jeremy was that he had gotten a beating that night. He didn’t remember why. Maybe there hadn’t been a reason and Riko had found the night to be too boring, so had decided to liven it up instead.
Jean found himself walking away from Jeremy. He didn’t want to look at his new captain with the memory of his old captain on his mind.
He heard Jeremy scramble to catch up with him, which wasn’t a difficult feat with Jean’s injuries still slowing him down.
Abby had done what she could for his physical health, but Renee had been more worried about his mental health and had forced him in to sessions with a woman named Bee. He’d never been to a therapist and didn’t know what to do, but she didn’t seem to realise.
The first thing she had asked was “how are you?” It had thrown Jean off, because it was painstakingly obvious that he was far from okay.
He knew that Jeremy saw that too, as he chattered to the others and attempted to bring Jean in to the conversation. Jean didn’t care for conversation, especially not with the likes of Kevin, Neil and Andrew, who had tagged along for the trip.
He heard Neil say something sarcastic, and he almost stiffened at the memory of his words constantly getting Jean in to trouble during the Christmas break. He couldn’t help but hold resentment towards Neil Josten.
That thought broke away when he saw Coach Rheman standing in front of a car. He was a large man, bulky muscles and tanned skin from the L.A. sun. He wore red and gold for the Trojans, and Jean noticed that Jeremy did too. Jean was in all black, even in this LA heat, but he couldn’t imagine himself in any other colour.
“Hello, Jean.” He held a hand out, which Jean tentatively shook. “I’m coach Rheman, I hope you’re doing okay.”
He didn’t bear to give that an answer, knowing how his bruises, bandages and the patches of skin showing on his head looked.
Upon Renee’s recommendation, the group split up so that Kevin, Neil, Andrew and Coach Wymack were in Coach Rheman’s car, whilst Renee and Jean were in Jeremy’s. He knew that she knew he still didn’t like being in the presence of Neil, Andrew or Kevin, so he was grudgingly glad that she intervened. He couldn’t suffer through a car journey with any of the three of them, though Andrew was probably the most bearable one.
He sat in the passenger seat of a beat up Honda. Jeremy kept on sending him tentative looks and seemed to be keeping his voice purposefully cheerful. Jean didn’t bother responding to him, but Renee made enough of an effort for the both of them; maybe she should have sat in the passenger seat instead.
Jean knew that the Trojans knew about...him. He knew they knew who caused his injuries. Jean didn’t know what that meant, but he knew he didn’t like that they knew. Would they pity him or treat him like trash? Jeremy’s smile was fixed on his face, but Jean didn’t want to see what his face could morph in to behind closed doors. Even Riko used to smile for the public.
His stomach did a somersault and he clenched his fists tighter. It didn’t matter that Riko was dead and that Jean was free, Jean could still feel the leash wrapped tightly around his neck.
Good, he thought to himself maybe then I’ll remember that my life depends on exy.
He hoped that the doctors at USC would go easier on him. He could feel his habits wearing away from being unable to play weeks on end.
Renee had gifted Jean with clothes before they came, and they were the majority of his one bag of belongings, so he didn’t understand why Renee had insisted on helping him unpack.
“I think you’ll like it here.” Renee spoke whilst hanging up an orange fox shirt and placing it in his cupboard.
“How do you know?”
“It’s the complete opposite of the Nest .” She spread her arms out, indicating the wide windows and the sun streaming in.
“You fit in better than I do.” He spoke grimly and she sighed.
“I’m a Fox.” She told him and he remembered the harsh lines around her eyes when she had come for him. “And you are now a Trojan.”
“As if I need reminding.” He held up a bright red Trojan shirt they had sent in the post a week after his contract was signed.
She grinned and they silently hung the clothes up together.
The bedroom was spacious, with enough of a gap between his bed and Jeremy’s that it made Jean feel more comfortable about sharing a room with him. There were white walls that surrounded him instead of black, but being in Abby’s guest bedroom had forced him to get used to that. Jeremy’s side of the room held a large signed poster of Oliver Birkow, the striker of the Daredevils, which made Jean’s eyebrows shoot up.
Renée followed his gaze with a laugh.
“Jeremy’s like a teenage boy.”
“Or gay.” Jean added in, making Renée laugh.
He couldn’t help but shoot her a smile-he liked her laugh.
“Guys.” He heard Jeremy call out. He had stepped out to take a call from the defensive dealer of the Trojans, Alvarez.
“Kevin just called.” Jean heard him walking towards the bedroom. “He’s bringing food.”
Jeremy entered the room and looked around with a grin.
“I love that you’re already getting settled in.”
Jean didn’t reply, but that didn’t weaken Jeremy’s smile.
“Anyway, I hope you both like Chinese.”
Jean didn’t say anything still. He didn’t want to talk to this captain, he felt a tiredness from seeing him try to communicate with Jean.
Multiple times he had attempted to shoot a joke at Jean, or bring him in to the fold of the conversation. The only reprieve Jean had was when Jeremy was distracted by the call and had left Renee and Jean in the apartment.
Renee was watching him and he knew she was disappointed that he was unwilling to communicate with Jeremy, so he ignored her too.
It was halfway through Jeremy and Renee’s conversation that her phone began ringing, interrupting the conversation.
“Oh sorry, it’s my mother, I need to take this.” Renee apologised, and Jeremy let her pass by stepping further in to the room and leaving the doorway clear.
The awkward tension in the air was palpable, and Jean had caught the pointed look Renee had given him before she left the room. He sighed.
“Lenovitz is so much better.”
Jeremy looked stunned that Jean had started a conversation, but quickly recovered with a sharp shake of his head.
“No way, Birkow is a much better all-rounder.”
“Lenovitz is faster.” Jean turned his body fully to face Jeremy.
“Yeah and what’s speed when your ten steps are done and you’ve realised you’ve left everyone else behind?” Jeremy was leaning against the wall casually, but his face looked intense with his eyebrows furrowed in such a way. “Birkow is a team player, Lenovitz only cares about the glory.”
“As far as I know that’s every exy striker.” Jean shot back and Jeremy looked taken-aback.
“Maybe you’ve just been playing with the wrong type of strikers.” Jeremy tilted his head towards Jean, blue eyes flashing with interest.
Jean knew who he was thinking about, but he raised his eyes and met his gaze, going as far as stepping towards Jeremy, refusing to show the weakness the Trojans are expecting from him.
“Prove me wrong, Jeremy Knox.”
“Oh, I will, Jean Moreau.”
Jean’s name rolled off of Jeremy’s tongue like a promise he was willing to keep. Stubbornly, Jean wanted to test how long it’d take before he’d break it and he ignored the part of him that wanted Jeremy to keep it.