[FELID_FACTOR]

[skinstealer]

ALIAS- 4/21/316

---

This is happening. This is really happening. Oh, god, this is happening. 

If I could throw up, I probably would. Fuck.

Alias taps their foot against the concrete, watching for the train coming in. The wind’s picking up and they pull their coat around themself, feeling like a nervous wreck- they can’t believe they’re doing this. This feels like it can’t possibly be real, but it is. 

They’re going to meet Remmy, real and in person. 

They don’t have any more time to think about this as the train pulls in, towering over them. They stay on the TCP platform, and as the doors open up and TCPs start coming off the elevated section, they start feeling like they’re going to pass out. They had exchanged pictures plenty of times before this, so identification wasn’t going to be a big deal, but-

REMMY: Crit! Criiiiit!
 

The shorthair type nearly jumps as they spot a familiar quilt type rapidly approaching with a large bag strapped to his tail. They don’t have time to react as they’re swept into a massive hug, the quilt surrounding them with warmth.

OH GOD HE’S HUGE

ALIAS: D-dude! You are...massive!
REMMY: Yeah! I warned you!
ALIAS: It’s different in person!
REMMY: To be fair, you’re way tinier in person than I expected too, haha!
 

He lets them go with a squeeze, and they can’t help but notice that he’s shaking a little too- he’s just as nervous. Part of them kind of wishes the hug lasted a little longer, but they don’t want to linger on that too long. 

REMMY: So...the big reveal.
REMMY: You ready?
ALIAS: Guess we did agree to this…
ALIAS: You first.
REMMY: Nah, you first. Mine’s anticlimactic.
ALIAS: Okay….Alias.
REMMY: Huh...like, aliased art?
ALIAS: Yeah. I wanted it to be, like...related to that, I guess. Related to the kind of stuff I do.
REMMY: That’s super cool!
REMMY: Okay, brace yourself. 
REMMY: It’s…
REMMY: Iiiit’s…
ALIAS: Out with it!
REMMY: Remmy.
ALIAS: ...you just use your real name?
REMMY: As in short for Rembrandt.
ALIAS: Oh.
REMMY: Told you!
ALIAS: I like it, though. It’s...fancy.
REMMY: Eh, it was a given name. I like Remmy better.
REMMY: I’ll tell you about it on the way to your place…
 

Settling into Alias’ apartment didn’t take long, and before Alias knew it, the two of them were talking just like always. It was more natural than they could have expected, and it felt...warm. Comfortable. 

REMMY: So I’ve been thinking...about critters.
ALIAS: Like, my critters.
REMMY: Your critters.
ALIAS: Is there something wrong with them?
REMMY: Oh, no. Opposite. Way opposite.
ALIAS: Uh...okay. I’m listening.
REMMY: You’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of them! They’re starting to show up all over the place in forum signatures, and you’ve made a ton of them so far.
REMMY: And you keep the design rights for all the ones you’ve made, right?
ALIAS: Yeah, I do. 
REMMY: So, I’ve been thinking…
REMMY: Why not a collab?
ALIAS: ...A collab?
REMMY: Yeah!
REMMY: I do that whole pattern thing for work, where I like...take paper patterns and turn them into quilted pieces, and then sew those into unique garments.
REMMY: But I did some tests recently.
REMMY: If I make clay sculptures and use my ability on them, it gives them a quilted outer layer, and I can cut the piece open to remove the clay from the inside, wash them carefully, and fill them with stuffing instead. 
REMMY: It took me a few tries to get it right, and I’m...not the best at sculpting yet, but I can learn. 
REMMY: I figure I can ask you for tips!
ALIAS: Holy shit.
REMMY: Yeah!
REMMY: We can do it with your critters!
REMMY: A collab!
ALIAS: You’d...be willing to do that?
REMMY: Hell yeah!
ALIAS: It’d be so much work on your end, I wouldn’t feel right taking money from it-
REMMY: Nope. Your designs, I’m going 50/50. Plus, you’re going to have to tutor me on the clay sculpting. 
ALIAS: You’re not going to back down on this, are you?
REMMY: Not a chance. 
ALIAS: Shit.
ALIAS: ...shit, you’re really selling me on this.
REMMY: We’d have to haul ass to make it happen, and with me having two jobs at this point, I wouldn’t be able to do it all the time, but…
REMMY: I really want to try it. 
REMMY: With you.
 

Alias would have blushed if they could have- there’s something about the way he says it, and even Remmy seems to realize it judging from the way they both awkwardly glance away from each other.

ALIAS: Yeah, well...you make it hard for me to say no to a deal like that.
ALIAS: I’m in.
REMMY: We can do some test runs on the trip- I brought some clay with me.
ALIAS: Yeesh, is that why your tail bags are so big?
REMMY: Yeah...it’s really heavy, too!
ALIAS: Ugh. You go hard, every time.
REMMY: I take my work seriously- and so do you, which is why I suggested this in the first place.
REMMY: ...and I’m really glad I decided to wait until I visited to suggest it. It feels more...organic, this way. More special. You feel that?
ALIAS: Yeah. 
ALIAS: I think I do.
 

Alias doesn’t know who starts it, but after a few moments, they’re leaning on each other- more Alias on Remmy due to the size difference, but there’s a distinct feeling of pressure coming from the quilt type as well. He looks down at them and if he could, he’d be smiling- and it’s nice. It’s legitimately nice, and Alias can’t remember how long it’s been since they’ve felt this comfortable with someone. 

Since Sonar-

REMMY: Hey, Alias-
ALIAS: Yeah?
REMMY: We need to do this again. Like, I know it’s a lot of money, with the TCP train seating being more expensive and all that…
REMMY: But I think we’re going to need this, after this trip.
ALIAS: Yeah…
ALIAS: Yeah.
ALIAS: I’d be willing to save up, and...I mean, you got that job with Marcel.
REMMY: Yeah- and maybe next time, I dunno...we could bring Tricky into it?
ALIAS: You think she’d be down for that?
REMMY: Maybe...I think she needs the company, though.
ALIAS: Yeah...the whole...drinking thing, it worries me a lot.
REMMY: Same. 
ALIAS: We can bring it up to her tomorrow, tonight I want to spend time with just us.
ALIAS: That okay?
REMMY: You got it.
 

Remmy dares to drape a quilt flap around them, and they scoot in just a little. 

REMMY: This okay?
ALIAS: ...yeah.
ALIAS: Yeah, it is.
REMMY: Good.
ALIAS: Yeah. The best.