My gecko fired down versus fired up. When fired up, his skin becomes much darker, almost turning black as well as more vibrant. His yellow markings become much brighter yellow, and the usually not visible markings on his lower sides and underbelly become visible.
this is VERY random, but I'm having a moment. I just feel like Remy has created complex backstories and relationships for his stuffed animals. you know, just for the drama of it all
Oh, no, you're absolutely correct, Toby. First of all, thank you for reminding me of the wonderful fact that Remy has a bunch of stuffed animals to begin with.
[In Remy's room]
Kai: *picks up a stuffed sheep* Awww, he's so fluffy!
Remy: Actually, she. That's Jeanette. I got her on a trip to Montreal in high school.
Kai: *gives Jeanette a hug* I love her. *puts her back on the bed next to a stuffed dog*
Remy: *As if the world is going to end* Nooooo! You can't put her next to Otis; they don't like each other!
Kai: ??????
Remy: They got in an argument two years ago about who gets to sit on my pillow, and there's been bad blood ever since.
For the next installment in the 25 days of Kiersey, let’s venture over to Remy’s point of view, and get a glimpse into winter break at home in Quebec City. Except this also features our other favorite French-Canadian Kiersey student......... wholesome friendship content ahead.
Kai is Remy’s best friend outside the hockey team. Xe’s a fellow history major, French-Canadian, and aro/ace person. Click here to see more about Kai!
Anyway. Below the cut: Remy and Kai hang out over winter break. That’s it. That’s the fic.
//
winter break of Remy’s freshman year
December 13th
iMessage
Kai Boudreaux: Hey!
Kai Boudreaux: How’s your break going?
Remy Tremblay: Hi, it’s good!
Remy Tremblay: Kind of boring, so far, but that’s okay
Remy Tremblay: I’m glad to have a break from worrying about my grades
Kai Boudreaux: Loool definitely same here about the grades
Remy Tremblay: Hows yours?
Remy Tremblay: How’s Leonardo
Kai Boudreaux sent a photo
Kai Boudreaux: As majestic as ever
Remy Tremblay loved a photo
Kai Boudreaux: 🦎🦎🦎
Kai Boudreaux: I’m sooooo bored at home
Kai Boudreaux: I was thinking, we should hang out!
Remy looks up from his phone.
He doesn’t want to say that he’s surprised that a person actually wants to hang out with him outside of school. After all, he doesn’t live under a rock all the time. He has socialized in his life before. It’s just that he didn’t know that Kai considered him that kind of friend. This is Kai— who is a year ahead of him, really involved in the history program, and took him under xir wing for no reason this semester except xe observed him floundering at speaking English. He didn’t think xe thought of him as much more than xir seatmate in history major seminar. Sure, they were friendly this semester, and they hung out outside of class, but he didn’t think he was worthy of— well, anyway.
He types a text back.
Remy Tremblay: You want to hang out?
Kai Boudreaux: Yeah!
Kai Boudreaux: I’m less than 90 minutes drive from you
Kai Boudreaux: PLUS I have a present for you!!
Kai Boudreaux: I looooove quebec city at holiday time
Remy Tremblay: So you want to come here?
Kai Boudreaux: Well, I have a car… and no offense to myself, but I’m pretty sure quebec city has a lot more to offer than my town, lol
Kai Boudreaux: Plus, if I go to you, my brother won’t annoy us
Remy Tremblay: Okay
Remy Tremblay: That sounds fun
Remy Tremblay: You coming here, not your brother being annoying
Remy Tremblay: Hahaha
Kai Boudreaux: What are you doing this weekend?
Okay, this is becoming a pattern........ but this continues on ao3, since it’s long. :D
could I request Kai and Remy for the Valentines vignette please?
Yes, Toby. Obviously you can.
ICYMI, I’m taking submissions to my ask box for Kiersey ships (either romance or friendships) to see in little Valentine’s Day snippets. Hit me up!!!
february 14th | sophomore year
Remy is completely minding his business when there’s a knock on his door.
Honestly, what else could he be doing? It’s one of those rare and kind of stupid years where Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday, which means everybody on campus is getting even a little more excited about commercialized romance than they would in a regular year— so naturally, Remy is watching Monty Python by himself in his room. After nabbing a win in the home game against UNH at 4:00, he parted ways with his team friends for the night. Nando is off to major simp hours with Quinn, which, like, what else is new, and Ben is going to the Beech Street Valentine’s rager to find— and this is a direct quote— ‘a lady or a gaydie or a theydie’ to spend his evening with.
Yuck. Remy is much more content by himself. Which is why the knock on the door makes him jump.
He pauses his movie, and looks at the door, like his eyes alone will drive the knocking away. Should he pretend he isn’t here? That probably wouldn’t be ethical. He doesn’t really have friends in his hallway, so when he actually thinks about it, he’s pretty sure he knows who his visitor is. And there’s no reason to be annoyed with that particular friend.
So he gets off his bed, and walks to the door. Sure enough, when he pulls it open, his visitor has purple hair. “Jeez,” Kai says, in lieu of a greeting. “You just can’t get ahold of a guy on this campus anymore.”
Remy squints at xir. “Huh?”
“You never answer your phone!” Kai cries, throwing xir hands in the air as if to show xir frustration. “I’ve been texting you for half an hour.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles, and actually does feel bad. He tends to forget to check his phone, when he’s by himself in his room, just chilling. Nando and Ben have tracked him down in here plenty of times, for the same reason. “I was watching Monty Python.”
“Ooh.” Kai stands on xir tiptoes, like xe’s trying to look past him and to his laptop screen on the bed. “Holy Grail or Life of Brian?”
“Holy Grail, obviously.” Remy lets xir in, turns on the light inside, and then backs up against his closed door. “So what’s up?”
Kai leans on the edge of his mattress, kicking up xir purple Converse. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Uh.” He folds his arms, and takes a second, before he says, “Watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
“Okay, well, that’s cool?” Kai replies. “But I think we should hang out instead.”
Remy raises his eyebrows at xir. “Do you want to watch Monty Python with me?”
“I mean, sure,” Kai says, with a shrug, “but first, we should, like, go out.”
He groans eternally. “Kai, I’m not going to a Valentine party. I think this is the stupidest holiday.”
“Rem,” Kai says, half-laughing. “Do you actually think that my aromantic ass wants to take you to a Valentine’s Day party?”
“Okay, what do you want to do, then?”
“I want to go to the store!” Kai kind of whispers this, like it’s some kind of top secret mission. A big grin accompanies xir words. “Dude, do you realize what tonight is? It’s, like, the discount candy jackpot!”
He pauses a second, and then unfolds his arms. “You want to... go out and buy candy?”
“Yes!” xe cries, still grinning, and xe jumps off his bed to cross the room. “C’mon, it’ll be so fun,” xe says, stopping in front of him and grabbing him by his elbows. “We’ll buy a ton of candy from Family Dollar. And then maybe we’ll hit Market Basket, too, on the way back. We’re playing the romance-normative system.”
Remy raises an eyebrow again. “I feel like that’s actually feeding into the system.”
Kai rolls xir eyes. “No, it’s not. All the people who date already bought their candy.”
“Unless they’re serious slackers,” he mutters.
“Okay— well, whatever,” Kai replies, and holds earnestly onto his arms, like the fate of the universe rests in the balance of this decision or something. “Are you in?”
Remy sighs, at length, and looks out the window of his room. Campus is buzzing, even though it’s probably cold out there. Monty Python looks so much more appealing. But Kai is his best friend, and candy does sound good.
So he meets xir eyes again, and tries a compromise. “Can we come back and finish Monty Python after we get the candy?”
“Yes,” Kai cries, in full-blown glee. “We can even eat it while we watch.”
Ah, screw it. You’re only in college once. “Okay, then it’s a deal.”
Kai pumps xir fists, and then hugs him. “That’s what I thought you’d say,” xe cries, and he laughs, and then lets the night get better from there.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to Remy Tremblay and Kai Boudreaux, who definitely use the day off from school due to Columbus Indigenous People’s Day as an excuse to host a huge potluck for all their Canadian friends and/or Americans who want to participate in Canadian culture
Have you ever been curious about the Remy & Kai friendship origin story? I come to you today with a little slice of that! I wrote this a brief while back for the same gift exchange that resulted in this drama club monstrosity, and I want to post it publicly now.
We know based on previous Remy & Kai content that the two of them have a lot in common: they’re both French-Canadian nerds (and I say ‘nerds’ as affectionately as is humanly possible), who love history, preserved art, and ancient literature, and also small animals and reptiles. They’re also both aromantic and asexual. I don’t know if I’ve ever actually stated this plainly, but Kai is the one who teaches Remy what “aromantic” and “asexual” actually mean. What you’re about to read is a ficlet in which that conversation takes place!!
Wholesome, affirming content ahead...
//
freshman year | november
Remy is having a good Saturday night.
Sure, it’s probably not what other people would consider to be a fun way to spend a Saturday, especially not most people on this campus, if the party scene is any indication of that. But for Remy, it works, and he figures the rest doesn’t matter much. He’s completely occupied an entire corner in the library, on the top floor, where you have to be quiet. It’s near the stacks of the history section— because he figures best to keep his favorite material close, so that he can go and get a new book when he finishes with the one he’s on. Which, right now, is a French transcription of Joan of Arc’s heresy trial.
He’s in what more meditative people might call a state of zen. He has his legs pulled up on his chair— one of the library’s coveted, comfy armchairs— and a warm Americano from the café on the table next to him. He probably should at some point eat an actual dinner, but right now, he’s content with the last of the Coffee Crisp that he got in the Halloween package Maman sent him.
He knows there’s a party at Beech Street, and maybe he’d be there if Nando and Ben were, but both of them had other plans tonight. Remy doesn’t mind. He wound up here, and he couldn’t be more content. The library is his favorite place on campus— except maybe the rink. And that’s a hard maybe.
He turns the page in his book. The cold wind from outside is pounding against the nearest window, and beyond it, campus is lit by street lamps. The trial is just getting good— Joan has just been brought in for questioning.
At first, he doesn’t notice the person in the stacks. After all, he’s dialed into reading, and it’s really, really easy to forget what’s going on around you when you’re dialed into reading. When he does register that there’s a person nearby, he only sees them in his peripheral vision— in the darker end of one of the nearby history stacks, somebody is rifling through a shelf, looking through the books. He pays them no mind. After all, that’s what he was doing an hour ago, when he got here.
He doesn’t look up, even when the person’s movement gets closer. In fact, he barely even thinks about the fact that someone is here at all— he’s more interested in Joan, and that stays the case right up until he hears the whisper. “Remy!”
Remy jumps, and startles, just a little. Is he hearing voices of library spirits? “Remy,” the voice repeats, and it’s a hushed whisper, but it only takes him a second more to realize it’s coming from the person in the stacks, not a Dunn Memorial Library ghost. It’s dark in the stacks, since they turn some lights off in here on the weekends, and Remy is squinting at the person, confused, for a solid couple of seconds before he sees purple hair.
Kai waves, and tiptoes to the edge of the stack near him, which casts xir into actual light. Remy should have realized. Kai sits next to him in their European history seminar, and they’ve hung out semi-regularly outside class to study, which is how they’ve discovered they share a lot of common interests. Remy likes Kai, a lot— xe’s been really nice to him for no reason, and xe helps him keep up with all the fast-paced English in class. “Hey,” Kai says, and smiles as xe switches to French. “How’s it going?”
The rest of this is on ao3, in the ficlet collection!
Another one!!! Toby, thank you. They absolutely do deserve good things.
“Who’s Kai?” Remy’s history major friend! See this post.
This is from this list of sappy prompts! If you’d like to see one, I’m definitely still taking them!
22. “You make me so happy.”
Remy isn’t completely freaking out over his schoolwork. It’s just that he’s not having the greatest afternoon. And he guesses his schoolwork is maybe one of the causes.
The problem is that freaking out about your schoolwork is stupid, especially when that schoolwork is already done. Or mostly done. He took a huge midterm exam in his gen ed philosophy class on Thursday, and then turned in a long essay for The Reformation on Friday, and then spent all of today— Saturday— doing work for his other two classes, and that’s it; that’s all, he’s pretty much finished. The problem is that right now, it’s four PM on a Saturday, and his friends have texted him a number of times, and the only thing he can find the energy to do is sit on the edge of his bed and worry about his grades.
He doesn’t even know why he’s so stressed. The big assignments and tests have been submitted; he just has to wait for his fate now. He thinks maybe it’s because Professor Han gave him a 76 on the first philosophy exam earlier this semester, and because Professor Friedman is notoriously tough on his writing, which, really, when you think about it, is his own fault, because this is his second year of American college and he still can’t get his English to feel completely natural, because the universe hates him, but— but really, he’s fine. He didn’t sleep enough last night, and they lost their game yesterday, but he’s fine. He’s just not having a good day. Sometimes, bad days happen.
He taps both his feet on the floor. His dorm room is getting dark, because the sun sets so early, and he never bothered to turn the light on in here today to begin with. He needs to think about a million things— dinner, what he’s doing tonight, what assignments are on his radar next, how he can help to prevent such a nasty loss like the one last night from happening again.
But right now, he doesn’t want to think about any of that. Right now, he just wants to be in his room in the dark. He likes having a single this year; he can be alone with his thoughts a lot more. It makes for peace and quiet when he’s reading, that’s for sure. Francis was a decent roommate as far as freshman year roommates go, but Remy values solitude. The only problem is at times like this, when he starts zoning out and nobody’s there to pull him out of his head.
He’s fine. Really, he is.
When his phone pings, it makes him jump. It’s sitting face-up on the edge of his desk, so he can see the screen light up, a faint glow against the darkening room. At first, he isn’t going to pick it up. He wants to lay back and let the heap of stuffed animals on his mattress swallow him, and maybe fall asleep right there, and just sleep straight through to wake up tomorrow morning. Except that’s an impossible hope, because if he did do that, he’d inevitably wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep at all and be totally dead all day tomorrow.
His phone pings a second time, and he isn’t sure why, but something about that second ping makes him curious about what notification it carries. He gets up, crosses the small floor space of his single, and picks up the phone. The notifications are stacked in order of most to least recent.
iMessage — now
Kai
Are you okay? You’ve been MIA for like 4 hours
iMessage — 1m ago
Kai
Hey
Group: Kiersey Men’s Hockey — 20m ago
18 notifications
iMessage — 37m ago
Ben
are you coming to beech tonight
Instagram — 1h ago
kairibou sent you a post!
The group chat lighting up is nothing new, and neither is Ben’s question about his plans for the night. He was with Ben, and Nando with him, earlier today— right up until lunch— and would probably still be with them if he hadn’t headed back for his room riding the homework excuse. The notifications from Kai are slightly more concerning, because they hit him with a pang of guilt. He doesn’t want to ignore xir. Or anybody, really.
He opens the Instagram notification first; xe sent him a meme about the Spanish Inquisition, which actually makes him laugh when he sees it. He likes xir message, then goes back over to the text thread. Even with one stupid meme, his shoulders feel a little less tight.
Me: Sorry
Me: I’m okay
Kai: Lol don’t be sorry
Kai: I was just wondering
Kai: What are you doing tonight?
Me: I don’t know
Me: I guess my team is probably hosting something at beech street
Me: But I don’t know that I’m up for it
Kai: Did something happen?
Kai: To you
Me: No, I’m okay
Me: I’m just not feeling it
Something funny happens, then, and Remy sinks into his desk chair as it happens. He watches Kai start typing, and then stop typing, and then start again, and repeat the cycle at least three times. He laughs at his phone screen again. The tension eases further.
Finally, there’s another text.
Kai: Where are you right now?
Me: I’m in my room
Me: Why?
Kai: Just wondering
Me: Uh… okay
Xe stops texting after that. Remy watches the screen for xir typing bubble to appear, but it doesn’t. Xe leaves him on read, which is fine. Remy has never been the kind of person to get weird about texting times or getting left on read, since he is one of the worst culprits when it comes to forgetting to reply. He has no idea what Kai is up to, but at least now xe knows he’s not having any major crisis.
Because he really isn’t having a major crisis. This is just normal college stress. Sometimes it happens.
And… okay. It’s true. He really doesn’t want to get another bad grade. But does anybody ever want that?
He walks back over to his bed, and grabs Nagini, his beloved weighted snake, from the stuffed animal pile. He drapes her around his neck like a scarf, then leans back into the pile, just the way he imagined doing, and feels the welcome embrace of a bunch of small, plush, inanimate friends.
Maybe he should go over to Kai’s apartment. He would really love to see Leonardo, the lizard xe’s not supposed to have in the dorms. But then again, that would require a lot of getting up and getting dressed and getting motivated that Remy cannot find in him right now.
So he’ll lay here. With Nagini and his other friends. In the dark. And that’ll be okay. If he winds up napping and waking up in the middle of the night, well… that’s a bridge he’ll cross when he gets to it.
He even closes his eyes. He’s not sure how long it is before it happens, but when the knock comes at the door, he’s definitely not sleeping. He knows he’s not sleeping because it makes him jump, and he sits up halfway in bed.
Knock, knock. It happens again, as he runs through the list of possible culprits. It’s definitely not the RA on his floor, because there was no chipper little res life! announcement that accompanied the knock. And he isn’t really on knock-on-the-door basis with any of his neighbors. He’s pretty sure it’s Kai. Then again, there’s an equal chance it could be Ben or Nando or even both of them at once.
There’s only one way to find out. He gets up, leaves Nagini on the bed, and pulls the door open a crack.
His visitor has purple hair, and is holding a small paper bag in one hand, with a disposable travel cup in the other. “Hi,” he says, in English, and then, in French, adds, “Are you about to kidnap me?”
“No.” Kai’s grin is gentle, and xe replies in French, because xe has never been anything but patient with his slow English brain. “But it would be cool if you let me in.”
“Oh.” He immediately feels stupid, because he should have realized that, and pulls the door all the way open for xir. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Kai slides xir shoes off at the door. They’re lavender high tops that almost match the color of xir hair, but not quite. In general, purple is a necessary part of Kai’s aesthetic. Remy got xir a purple mug with lizards on it this past Christmas.
Kai is quiet for a second, as the door shuts itself behind xir. There’s something in xir expression that lets Remy know he’s about to be interrogated, before it even happens. Xe folds xir arms, and tips xir head to the side. Remy figures maybe he can beat xir to it, and answer the question before xe asks. “I’m okay,” he assures xir, and hopes he sounds convincing.
Kai doesn’t look like xe believes him. “Have you been locked in here all day in the dark?”
“No,” Remy lies, and then Kai turns on the light. He winces, and sits back onto his mattress. “A little warning next time?”
“Sorry.” Kai walks over to sit down next to him, and hands him the paper bag and cup. “But these are for you.”
“What?” He pauses, as xe forces the items upon him. The bag is light, but there’s definitely something inside— food, for sure. And the cup is warm, like it’s home to a hot drink. He meets Kai’s eyes. “Why?”
“Because I’m not stupid,” Kai laughs. Xe rubs his shoulder, gently, and adds, “You’re having a weird day. I thought you could use, like… a pick-me-up?”
“You didn’t have to—” He sniffs the drink; it’s hot chocolate. “You really didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I wanted to.” Kai is still gentle, as a small silence settles over both of them. Remy peeks into the bag. It’s a croissant, a chocolate one, and both of these items no doubt came from the café on campus. He inhales, and when he lets out his breath, Kai speaks again. Xir voice is a lot quieter this time. “Are you okay?”
Remy hesitates, which is the first mistake you always make when you’re trying to convince someone you’re okay. But then again, says his subconscious, within that brief hesitation, why bother? Why try to fake it? Kai knows him well. Xe’s one of his best friends. And he has a feeling xe wouldn’t be bringing food randomly to his dorm if xe didn’t have some reason for it. The reason, in this case, being that xe obviously expects him to reply with a no to xir question.
So he sighs, then remarks, “I’m just having a day.”
“Having a day is okay.” Kai pauses. “That’s… kind of what I figured. It’s why I’m here.”
“Sorry,” he blurts, because the guilt washes stronger over him now. It’s a Saturday, and Kai could be doing any number of fun things, and xe’s in his dorm feeling sorry for him when he’s just being dramatic about some schoolwork.
“Why are you sorry?” xe replies.
“I didn’t mean to, uh— concern you?” He winces at himself, and looks up to meet xir eyes. “Or, like— make you interrupt your day for me—”
“Rem,” Kai mumbles. There’s sincerity— and warmth— in xir eyes. “There’s literally nothing you have to apologize for. This is what friends are for.”
And Remy knows this. But he’s so overwhelmed with gratitude in this moment that it feels like new information. “Thank you,” he says. “For, uh— the food. And for coming.”
“You’re welcome on both,” xe says. “And it’s white hot chocolate, by the way.”
Remy laughs into the lid of the warm drink. “You make me so happy.”
Kai’s smiling, and xe shrugs. “Like I said,” xe says. “What are friends for.”
He takes a long sip from the cup; xe’s right. It’s white hot chocolate. And it tastes like a warm hug. Little by little, he thinks he’s going to have a good night.
“C’mon,” Kai says, after they sit there a moment, as if xe can read his mind. “Let’s watch something. I’m here to stick around.”
Remy smiles. “Okay.”
Before they do, he texts Ben.
Me: I’m staying in tonight, but I’ll see you at breakfast?
Ben: good deal
Ben: love you
Me: Love you too
With Kai, he winds up in a pile on his bed. They perch his laptop at the edge of the covers, pull up Game of Thrones, and use the duvet as a way to achieve maximum cozy. Remy puts Nagini around his neck again. Kai is a lot smaller than he is, and xe huddles into his shoulder. Xe’s warm, and xir hair smells like lavender, and xe’s always a good cuddle.
“You should have brought Leonardo,” he tells xir, pulling his arm around xir shoulders.
“Aw,” Kai mutters. “He must be so lonely in my room. We can go there next time.”
“Yes,” he whispers, to the ceiling. Kai’s lizard is really the best.
“I know you like him more than you like me,” xe adds, as xe’s pushing play on the laptop.
“Well,” Remy remarks, not really able to stop smiling. “At least you know.”
Kai laughs as xe falls back into their blanket cocoon. “You’re an asshole,” xe remarks, and Remy grins wider, because he knows.
Safe, warm, and cozy, that’s how he spends the rest of his Saturday night. He wouldn’t change much of anything, not for the world.
