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In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Jean didn't see much of Jeremy.
This was... odd, to say the least. It was abrupt, too- after Thanksgiving, Jean hardly saw Jeremy outside of practices and games. Laila and Cat dragged him out to all of the Secret Santas and White Elephants their team and friends held, and Jeremy was never at any of them. When Jean asked Xavier about it, he just shrugged and said, "He never comes to these. He never has, and none of us really ask him about it."
This mystified Jean, for lack of better words.
Jeremy- kind, generous Jeremy- missing the time of year where one was expected to be both kind and generous to others just didn't sit right with him. He simply could not find any rational reason why Jeremy wouldn't be there.
He asked the girls about it, and they just smiled.
Jean was once again mystified.
It was a few nights before Christmas, and since it fell on a Tuesday this year, the Trojans had their last practice with the few people that lived around campus. This included Jean, Cat, Laila, and Jeremy, so naturally they were there along with a couple Floozies and some others. It wasn't a particularly grueling practice, since Coach Rhemann wanted them to not be banged up when they went home to their families for the holidays. This annoyed Jean- why practice at all if you can't practice to your full ability- but he went along with it regardless. Everyone else seemed to be having fun with their dumbed down drills, so he supposed he might as well live a little.
He thought back to how he would have dealt with this when he first arrived at USC- he probably would have just left the court. He still wanted to, but he knew he wouldn't, since he actually maybe semi-enjoyed being there. Cat would be proud of his growth, he thought.
So would Jeremy. He's currently on the bench, his head tilted towards their Coach in a hushed conversation. Jeremy's eyebrows were pulled closely together, a light frown gracing his usually shining face. Even in negative emotion, he was still the most beautiful man Jean had ever seen.
Jean had long since come to terms that he may have more-than-friend feelings towards his captain. Halloween had been a rude awakening- when Jeremy showed up to the Floozies' Halloween party in a very revealing cowboy costume, Jean was finally hit in the face with his feelings. It wasn't so much the costume itself that had anything to do with it (though it did contribute a little) as it was Jeremy's intoxicating confidence. Cat had picked out the costume as a joke, but Jeremy owned the look in such a way that Jean realized that he was attracted to him. (He also had the audacity to still look cute in what might be the sluttiest cowboy costume ever, which is simply unfair.)
Cat and Laila picked up on this change in Jean within the first week, and they have been no help at all. Before Jeremy's Christmas Vanishing Act™, the girls would just leave the Loft randomly, leaving Jean, Jeremy, and Jab together for hours on end. Each time they came back, Cat wiggled her eyebrows at Jean and Jean rolled his eyes in response. She, in turn, gave him a disappointed smile and ran off to her girlfriend, likely to share the devastating news that they "haven't boned" yet.
After Thanksgiving, the girls would still go out, but Jeremy would too. He never told Jean where, and so Jean was left with Jab for hours. It was less then fun, and when Cat eventually figured that out, she and Laila didn't leave as often.
It had been like this all month, and Jean was starting to lose it. All of his teammates said it was no big deal, that this happens every year, but Jean simply couldn't imagine why.
So when Jeremy left the bench and headed out to the locker room, Jean was too distracted trying to decide whether or not to go after him to notice the ball flying his way. It hit him on the back of his left shoulder, and it didn't hurt as much as it did shock him. He jumped at the unexpected impact, then chided himself for startling easily and being startled. Derrick shouted an apology, but Jean just glared and continued to participate in practice.
He didn't see Jeremy again until Christmas.
"If you need anything, you call one of us immediately," Laila commanded. She and Cat were going to Cat's family's house for tonight, and staying overnight to Christmas and leaving to see Laila's family the day after. They'd be back before New Year's, they promised- they had no desire to leave Jean by himself, but they had traditions to uphold. Jeremy was still nowhere to be found- all messages had gone unseen and all calls unanswered. Jean would have been more worried if the girls were more worried- they assured Jean that this was normal and that he'd be back... soon... to celebrate with them.
Jean was skeptical, but he had no choice but to trust them.
"Yes, you have made me promise this 5 times in the last 20 minutes," Jean replied sarcastically, reaching down to pet Jab from where he sat by Jean's legs. "I will be okay."
"You better be, or Santa isn't leaving any gifts for you," Cat sing-songed, flashing Jean a shit-eating grin. (They had already given Jean the Santa talk, so he was now well-versed in American Christmas traditions.)
"You are wrong. He will still give me coal."
Cat eyed him, amused. "Whatever helps you sleep, Jean. Don't forget to leave cookies out for him!"
Jean snorted. "No one is coming into this house, not even a fat man with gifts. I will not leave any cookies out for him. If he is not already diabetic, he surely will be after tonight even without my contribution."
Cat's jaw dropped, and she started snorting in laughter. Laila gave them both an exasperated look before checking her new watch- it was Jean's gift to her. (He had gotten Cat a new cutting board, which was displayed proudly on the kitchen counter.) "We need to get on the road. I expect updates every hour, Mr. Moreau."
Jean sighed. "Yes, Ms. Dermott. Drive safely, both of you."
"DON'T FORGET THE COOKIES!" Cat shouted at her girlfriend pushed her out the door.
When it shut behind them, Jean looked down at Jabberwocky. Jab's tail started wagging.
"Yes, fine, we can watch a movie."
They ended up watching whatever was on cable. Jean didn't actually know.
With Jab softly snoring in his lap, he checked the time on his phone. It was well past midnight, meaning it was now technically Christmas. After turning off the TV, he shot all of his friends a text, including Jeremy. He knew it wouldn't be read.
He pushed himself up off of the couch, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water. On his way out, he looked at the heaping piles of cookies he and the girls had made.
He walked away.
...
He walked back.
"Just three," Jean mumbled under his breath, grabbing 2 sugar cookies and a gingerbread man. He set them on a paper plate and left them on the table near their Christmas tree.
He shook his head at himself in disbelief.
"Jab," he called, waking the sleepy dog up. Jab trotted over to his side, then ambled down the hall to Jean's room to sleep on Jeremy's bed. He'd been doing this since Jeremy stopped coming home last week since he missed his other dad, which is actually pretty sweet. Jean started to follow him down the hall when he heard a soft thump behind him.
He immediately tensed, turning around slowly.
"Uh, crap," said the man behind him. He was wearing a red puffer jacket and red sweatpants, complemented with black boots. On his head he wore a red beanie, which covered his ears and most of his head. There was a big brown sac slung across his shoulder, and it looked nearly empty. "You were supposed to be asleep."
"You are not Santa." Jean didn't mean for it to be that blunt, but it was what he was thinking anyway. "You are not an old, fat man. Why are you in my house?"
Faux-Santa chuckled, unlacing his boots and putting them near the door. "Rude. I'm not an old, fat man, you're right about that, but I am Santa, and I really need you to go to sleep so I can, uh, Santa."
Wait a minute. Jean flipped on the light switch next to him to get some better lighting in the room.
"No don't-"
"Jeremy?"
Golden curls poked out of the hat, and Jean could now clearly see the freckles he knew by memory. Jean walked up to him briskly, pulling off the offensive beanie.
Jeremy put his hands up, lightly pushing Jean away from him. "Jean, I really need you to go to sleep and forget I was here, okay? I have a job to do and I need to get it done-"
"What the fuck, Jeremy." Jean pinched the bridge of his nose. "What the fuck. Why are you Santa Claus?"
"Uh-" He looked around Jean and at the cookies on the table. His legs seemed to move on their own accord- one second he was in front of Jean and the next he was stuffing sugar cookies down his throat. "Wow," he said around a mouthful of cookie, "no milk for Santa?"
Why was that hot, that should not have been hot. Jean cleared his throat, looking away from Jeremy to regain his composure. "No."
"But-"
"No one ever asks Santa what he wants to drink," Jean blurted out, heat rising to his face, "so I will be the first. Jer- Santa, what would you like to drink with your cookies?"
Jeremy stopped moving. He swallowed slowly, and Jean turned around to look at him. He was nearly as red as his suit was, and he had his face down turned in an effort to prevent Jean from seeing it.
It did not work.
"Water." Jeremy's voice was strangled. "Water is fine, thanks."
Jean went to the kitchen, filling a glass for his friend. He walked to the couch, where Jeremy was now laying, and handed him the cup.
"Thanks, Jean. You don't want to know how bad milk and cookies taste after eating nothing but those for... too many hours." He smiled at Jean, and this time Jean had to turn his face away. Jeremy's smile could always reduce Jean to something warm and syrupy, and Jean quite literally had to fight for his life not to let it show. "Why are you still awake?"
"Jab and I were watching Christmas movies." Jean scanned Jeremy's make-shift Santa uniform. "Why are you..." His gesture towards Jeremy's figure seemed to be clear enough.
Jeremy set his water down on the coffee table, swinging his legs around so he was sitting upright, then slipped his jacket off and threw it onto the other end of the couch, revealing a purple shirt underneath. He blushed, and Jean almost died. "It's just a thing."
Jean waited.
Jeremy cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. "Someone has to show up as Santa every year, I guess. I go around to all of our friends' houses and leave gifts for them- well, only the ones that give me their house keys. After I got better, it was a little way of saying thank you to everyone, and it just kind of stuck. A little Christmas magic, so my adult friends can have presents under their trees." He flashed a grin at Jean. "No one told you?"
Jean shook his head. He would be having a very long conversation with the girls about this when they got home.
Jeremy snorted, then tried to hide it with his water. "I thought they wouldn't. They love messing with you."
"Really?" Jean deadpanned, making Jeremy choke on his drink. Jean smiled inwardly, though it may have shown outwardly on accident. "Where have you been this month? There is no North Pole, so you will have a better excuse than that."
"I had a lot of shopping to do." Jeremy shrugged. "I also had to learn how to knit, and that takes more time than you'd think."
Jean raised an eyebrow.
"Laila had been talking about a new hat, so I wanted to make one for her. Wait-" Jeremy got up, walking to where he had left the sac. He fished out a golden blob. Upon further inspection, Jean saw it was one of those cat-shaped hats that the girls always fawn over when they go shopping. "It doesn't look that good, but I think she'll like it. I made Cat a new pair of earrings. They're in a box, so I won't show you now." He put the hat back in the sac before sitting back down on the couch.
Jean just stared at him. "You are hopeless at ceramics, and yet you are hand-making gifts?"
"Not all of them. I bought rings for Xavier and Min, and for... uh, others."
Jean could do nothing but marvel at the man next to him. He had been through so much, and yet he was still one of the most amazingly kind people Jean knew. He went out of his way to dress up like a dollar store Santa Claus and leave personalized, hand-made gifts for all of his friends. People simply didn't do that, not unless they were angels sent from the Heavens above. Though, if we're being honest, Jeremy is an angel, so it shouldn't have shocked Jean that he was doing angelic deeds. Nonetheless, Jean was filled with such overwhelming love for his friend. He had always known he was infinitely lucky to have such kind people as his friends, but it didn't hit him until that moment how far they would go for each other. How far Jeremy would go for all of them.
So when Jean subconsciously leaned into Jeremy's space and planted a feather-light kiss just below his eye, he belatedly wondered if he had just jeopardized that.
He pulled away slowly, his eyes trained to Jeremy's as he desperately tried to read them. When what he just did finally registered- it could have been seconds or hours of them just looking at each other- Jean began to panic.
Jean immediately averted his eyes, looking anywhere but the dark pools he wouldn't mind drowning in. His face was burning. "I- That was an accident, I am sorry- Shit- I should-" He started to stand up, but was stopped by a firm yet gentle grip on his arm.
"Jean." Jeremy's gorgeous brown eyes locked on his, and his voice was the softest Jean had ever heard it. "It's okay."
Jean sat back down, trying to look away but found he could not.
Jeremy scooted closer to Jean, never dropping his gaze so he could watch for any signs of discomfort. When they were pressed thigh to thigh, Jeremy asked, "Is this okay?" At Jean's nod, he leaned himself into Jean's torso. Jean's breath got caught in his throat at the comfortable pressure. He felt Jeremy sigh deeply, and then gentle fingers grabbed the side of his jaw. A moment later, Jean felt soft lips press a kiss into the bottom of it, back near his ear. Jeremy was careful to stay away from Jean's neck as he slowly pressed more kisses into Jean's skin.
"Jeremy..." he murmured softly after many minutes of this, "what are you doing?"
"Kissing your jaw."
Jean was silent with wonder.
Jeremy paused his movements. "Is it okay?"
Jean breathed deeply through his nose. "Yes."
He felt Jeremy's breath catch. "Can I continue?"
"Why?" It was in times like this that Jean couldn't tell whether or not he was okay with his blunt way of speaking. What he meant to say was "Are you sure about this?" or "Why is this happening?", but his mouth had conspired against him.
Jeremy sat up so he could look at Jean again. He simply stared for a second, seemingly lost in thought (or in Jean's eyes). "I would like to kiss you." His eyes flickered down to Jean's lips. "On the lips, I mean. Am I... am I allowed to do that?" He sounded so nervous.
In response, Jean kissed him first.
It was gentle and unsure, just a light touch of lips. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with Jeremy's lovely blushing face and wonderstruck eyes.
He quickly decided he could get used to that look on Jeremy.
They just stared at each other, which seems to be something they do instead of communicating with words.
Jean leaned in again, pressing little kisses on the edges of Jeremy's mouth. When his angel closed his eyes, Jean kissed each of his eyelids, which caught Jeremy off guard if his sudden intake of breath was anything to go by.
"Wait!" Jeremy jumped up very quickly. Jean was immediately struck with the thought that he had messed up, but Jeremy kissed his forehead sweetly (as if to say, "it's okay") before grabbing something out of the sac. It was a box wrapped in bright red wrapping paper, and he handed it to Jean carefully. "You need your Christmas gift."
"I thought that was my gift?" Jean gestured to his jaw.
It brought him great joy to watch Jeremy flush a bright shade of pink.
"I- Well- Just open it!" Jeremy plopped himself back on the couch, still close to Jean. He leaned his head on the taller man's shoulder.
Slowly, Jean unwrapped the present and opened the box. Inside was an olive green hoodie.
He looked at Jeremy for an explanation.
"I know it's not black," Jeremy joked, "but this is the hoodie I leant you when we played the Ravens a few weeks ago. You seemed to really like it then- you looked comfortable in it, I guess- so I wanted to give it to you."
Jean remembered now- he had been overwhelmingly nervous about playing his old team, or betraying them, or a number of other irrational thoughts. Jeremy had let him borrow his olive green oversized hoodie, saying "you can be colorful today" in a gentle voice. Jean didn't think that Jeremy had fully understood what that meant for him, but he now realized how wrong he was.
Jean slipped the hoodie on, its comfortable material hanging off his arms and instantly cozying him up.
"You did not have to," he whispered softly.
"No, but I wanted to." Jeremy smiled at him. "It looks good on you."
Jean stood up. "Come with me. I have a gift for you as well."
Jeremy followed him into their shared room. Jab woke up when his fathers walked into the room, and he jumped off of Jeremy's bed to say hello.
"He has been sleeping there all week," Jean told Jeremy as he opened his dresser drawer in search of Jeremy's Christmas gift.
"Aw, what a good boy," Jeremy cooed at Jab as the little dog ran around his legs.
Jean found what he was looking for, and told Jeremy to sit on his bed and close his eyes.
Jean held the small gift in his hands, walking over to Jeremy and placing it in his outstretched hands. "You can open it."
As Jeremy tore through the gold wrapping paper, Jean briefly second-guessed his gift-giving abilities- there was a chance Jeremy wouldn't like it, would hate it, but Jean fought those thoughts like a dying man fights sadness. When he saw the look on Jeremy's face when he opened the little box, however, all of his worries melted to background noise.
Jeremy's eyes sparkled with affection as he looked at the necklace in the jewelry box. The chain was gold and moderately thick, and from it hung a small golden spear. The spear was about the length of Jean's pinky finger, and it had a little red ribbon tied on right below the spearhead.
"You are the captain of the Trojans," Jean said quietly. "Fighters like you deserve a spear."
"Fighters like us," Jeremy whispered. He slipped on the necklace gently, admiring the comfortable weight of it on his collarbone. He looked up at Jean before lightly grabbing his hands and pulling Jean on top of him. They fell back onto the bed, but that wasn't what caused Jean's breath to catch.
Jeremy's hair framed his head like an angel would be framed by a halo. And, really, Jean should not have been surprised by this, but it had been a big night for him.
"You truly are an angel." It slipped out of Jean's mouth before he could catch it. He blushed and looked away from Jeremy.
"Jean," was the only warning Jeremy gave before pulling Jean's face towards his and crashing their lips together.
Jean gasped into the kiss, not used to the feeling yet. Their lips moved against each other, always gentle and never demanding. Jean nearly moaned when Jeremy slipped his tongue into his mouth. Jean pulled away before he actually did let out a sound, panting above Jeremy. The man under him was a sight to behold- blushing and breathing heavily, and a deep sense of pride filled Jean because he did that.
"I am going to assume you like the gift," Jean slurred, his accent thicker than usual. The fact that it's nearly 1 am probably has something to do with it, and maybe also the fact that he just... whatever that was with his... Jeremy.
"Duh," Jeremy breathed. "It's beautiful, Jean, where did you find it?"
Jean's brain was delayed, overlapping Jeremy's nearly indecent Jean from not even 5 minutes ago with what he had just said.
Jeremy seemed to realize this and giggled, giggled, before leaning up to press a kiss to the tip of Jean's nose. "Are you tired, Jean?"
"Non," he mumbled.
"Mmm, yes." Jeremy gently pushed Jean off of him and sat up. Jean walked over to his bed, turning around when he didn't hear Jeremy follow.
"Tu viens?" Jean asked softly. He didn't seem to know more than French in his sleepy, Jeremy-logged state.
"Oui." Jeremy got up, patting Jab on the head from where he sat on the floor, and walked over to Jean. "Are you sure, Jean?"
Jean nodded in response.
They turned the lights off, pulled the comforter back, and settled into bed, Jean resting his head on Jeremy's chest ("C'est confortable, Jeremy!"). After Jean gave permission, Jeremy combed his fingers through Jean's hair as they fell asleep.
Light from the bedroom windows woke Jeremy up, as it was shining right in his eyes. He guessed it to be somewhere after 9 am, and 8 hours of sleep is always a win in his book. He looked down at the sleeping Jean on his chest. He was snoring softly, and his hair had fallen to frame his face in the most gorgeous way.
Jeremy knew they'd have to talk about this, about them, but for now he was content to just lay there. Out of all the people he's slept with, he never slept with them like this. They didn't want him for pure mornings of waking up with someone else. They didn't want him for that. It's nice to be wanted, he discovered. Correction: It's nice to be wanted by Jean. By someone he cares about.
"I hear you thinking." Jean's morning voice had a very pronounced accent, which almost melted Jeremy to a puddle.
"Only about you." Jeremy flashed him an award winning smile.
"You are so cheesy," Jean murmured as he nuzzled back into Jeremy's chest. The spear on the necklace lay in the hood of Jeremy's- now Jean's- hoodie, which Jeremy thought made for something very poetic. "Do we need to get up soon?"
"Yes."
Jean groaned in annoyance. "Why?"
"So I can order us a pizza and we can sit on the couch and watch movies all day."
Jean seemed to perk up at that. "Fine." He sat up, some of his silky hair plastered to the side of his face, and stretched. It was downright adorable. He then took Jeremy's hand and pulled him to sit upright. He kissed Jeremy softly, making every butterfly in his stomach wake up and fly around. "Which blankets should I bring?"
About a half hour later, the two Trojans were lounging on the couch watching whatever Christmas movie was on cable and eating semi-shitty pizza from down the street. It wasn't oily, which was a plus for Jean and a minus for Jeremy. Jab was curled up next to Jean on his left, and Jeremy was half-laying on his chest. It was Jean's turn to play with his angel's hair.
"This movie isn't that bad," Jeremy tried to say over a mouthful of pizza.
"I have not been paying attention at all." Jean had something more important to focus on.
"There's no dandruff in my hair, right?" Jeremy looked up at Jean. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if there was. My new boyfriend forced to play with oily, crusty hair- that's nightmare fuel right there."
"Boyfriend?" Jean needed to make sure he heard that right.
"Sure." Jeremy looked back at the movie for a second, then frantically back at Jean. "Only- well, if you want to, you don't have to- I just figured we spend all of our time together an-y-way so- so it makes sense, uhm..." He was a bright shade of red.
"I am... okay with that." Jean smiled a rare smile. "I am okay with that, boyfriend."
Jeremy squeaked, leaning up to softly press a kiss to Jean's lips. Jean pressed back, and all was right in the world.
And then the phone rang.
"Cat!" Jeremy and Jean shouted at the same time as they picked up the video call. One was in glee and the other was in fear. You get to guess which is which.
"MR. JEAN MOREAU, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT HOURLY UPDATES?" Laila yelled from the other side of the screen. She wasn't on screen- Cat's massive face was hogging it- but they didn't need to see her face to know she was mad. "Oh, hi Jeremy."
"Hello! He's okay, I promise," Jeremy smiled before leaning back on Jean's chest, causing them both to blush.
Cat looked at the two of them for a second, before her face broke out into a huge grin. "THEY HAVE BONED! I REPEAT, THE GAYS HAVE BONED!"
"CATALINA!" Jean shouted in disgust, his face heating up even more as he looked away from the screen.
"THE GAYS-"
Jeremy hung up the call. "They've been like this with you too?"
"Unfortunately. Having friends was supposed to be fun."
Jeremy snorted, lightly kissing Jean's jaw.
All was right with the world, since Jean's world was the man laying on his chest in this little apartment they lived in with their two best friends and their dog. Mostly the man on his chest, though.
"Christmas is not that bad," Jean decided as he rested his head on Jeremy's for the first time of many to come.