I'm fine

neil punching the shit out of riko and wymack having to drag him off

neil repeatedly wanting to hit someone but not allowing himself because he was trying to stay low profile

neil getting back from evermore, realising riko tattooed him, and immediately attempting to carve the tattoo off his face with a knife

neil fantasising about stomping andrews face in at columbia

neil being experienced with guns

neil specifically liking exy because its aggressive and violent

neil grabbing the racket at thanksgiving with the intention of using it as a weapon, then asking for it back after

"i'm fine" means "i can do what is needed of me without failing you", it means "don't worry about me". there were other priorities. neil saying he's not okay is him saying that he needs help.

Damien never really wanted a son, and then his wife died in childbirth so he held an unfounded grudge against Jean and decided to basically force Jean to play Exy with the plan of eventually giving him to the Moriyamas

Eliot was the only one of Damien's enforcers that was ever nice to Jean and felt bad for the kid, but he couldn't do anything once Jean was sent away, but he did keep an eye on Jean all through the years

Fast forward a bunch of years later, Neil's plan is still to sacrifice Jean's family as fodder for the FBI's case on The Butcher, so Neil and Jean meet with the FBI around the same time the Leverage team starts working against Damien Moreau

The arrest that happens during the interview is actually Damien's arrest in San Lorenzo, and there's no extradition but the FBI can still use Damien as a fall guy for their case

Once the Leverage team is back in the US, Eliot goes to find Jean with Parker and Hardison in tow (they wouldn't take no for an answer)

So Jeremy opens the door to this group of strangers, one of whom looks like he could easily murder them all, and Jeremy tries to bluff that Jean isn't there except the other two are convinced he is. Eliot yells Jean's name and Jean comes running, Jeremy is prepared to step in between them (even though he's terrified) but instead Eliot pulls Jean in for a hug, and Jean. lets him??? What is going on???

They all get some time to hang out, Cat bonds with Parker over their love of driving fast, they all have a good time, and it ends with Eliot giving Jean his number and saying to call him if he ever gets in trouble

Damien never really wanted a son, and then his wife died in childbirth so he held an unfounded grudge against Jean and decided to basically force Jean to play Exy with the plan of eventually giving him to the Moriyamas

Eliot was the only one of Damien's enforcers that was ever nice to Jean and felt bad for the kid, but he couldn't do anything once Jean was sent away, but he did keep an eye on Jean all through the years

Fast forward a bunch of years later, Neil's plan is still to sacrifice Jean's family as fodder for the FBI's case on The Butcher, so Neil and Jean meet with the FBI around the same time the Leverage team starts working against Damien Moreau

The arrest that happens during the interview is actually Damien's arrest in San Lorenzo, and there's no extradition but the FBI can still use Damien as a fall guy for their case

Once the Leverage team is back in the US, Eliot goes to find Jean with Parker and Hardison in tow (they wouldn't take no for an answer)

So Jeremy opens the door to this group of strangers, one of whom looks like he could easily murder them all, and Jeremy tries to bluff that Jean isn't there except the other two are convinced he is. Eliot yells Jean's name and Jean comes running, Jeremy is prepared to step in between them (even though he's terrified) but instead Eliot pulls Jean in for a hug, and Jean. lets him??? What is going on???

They all get some time to hang out, Cat bonds with Parker over their love of driving fast, they all have a good time, and it ends with Eliot giving Jean his number and saying to call him if he ever gets in trouble

and then there's the other side of the coin. jean is used to his eating disorder being a topic of discussion by this point, and his fixations with numbers and measurements being scrutinized rather than gently counteracted. cat helps by teaching him to cook, and jeremy and laila try too, but even then he's still surrounded by nutrition facts and labels and calculations to lose himself in. but then cody notices, and they keep noticing, and as subtly as possible they start to find tiny things jean enjoys to brighten up his day. they ask cat what fruits he likes and bring him peaches and buckets of strawberries, snacks without a label to lose himself in or visible numbers to panic over. and they don't force him to have them, but they're visibly elated and encouraging when he does, and when he actually enjoys them. jean doesn't make cody feel like a burden for something they can't control, so cody refuses to do the same. they just want to help, to make sure he eats, and to make sure he enjoys eating.

A small wip of my favourite French man 🫡