Summary: Boo, being two at the time, could never really remember all that happened on that fateful day. Being told all the details at thirteen is pretty heavy going and she's not sure how to process it when Randall asks if she can forgive him. Thankfully she has a good friend to help get her through it. Even if who he's related to makes this awkward. Some Rex/Boo shipping.
Rated T because well for any Christians out there Boo blasphemes I guess you could say. Can't really blame her for it though. She's kind of freaked out, hence why she's on the roof in the first place and refuses to come down or let anyone up next to her except Rex. She needs to be left alone by those involved for a bit and sort this out.
A/N: I have a lot of... feels about older Boo and how she'd take the story when she's older. Overall in a world where Randall, Sulley, Mike and Fungus make amends and Rex exists I guess this is more or less my take on it if you know they decided to do something like wait until she's a bit older to sit her down and well, explain everything. Poor Boo, it would hit her like a ton of bricks I'm thinking to the level that an immediate answer would be a terrible thing to ask for but something Randall would be itching for after waiting for so long without really knowing how she'd take it.
I updated Family a day early for those wondering about that fic. Ha.
Rex stared at her as they sat on the top of the roof of her house where she'd refused to come down from, rather stunned as she repeated the whole story she'd been given a couple of hours earlier. She finally brought it to a close:
"…And well I guess we've come to the end then, like I said. Kit- Sulley chucked Randall through the door and he gets beaned with a shovel, he got him back over a year later and then they all bonded over keeping this all from me until now and deciding to drop the bombshell on me today."
She sounded bitter. It didn't suit her.
"I'm… I'm kind of having a problem taking this all in." Rex admitted still reeling from what Boo had told him. "Did you say Mr. Sullivan banished my Uncle. THAT Mr. Sullivan- he's so- so-" he gestured with his arms, looking incredulous, trying to find the right words.
"Not the vindictive type? Yeah that's what I figured. But then I didn't think your Uncle was in the habit of making sucking machines to attach to human children's faces and trying to kill people he worked with. Grumpy sometimes? No doubt. Half of what makes him lovable even. But that? What do I even say to something like that? Woopsie, but no harm done fellas: want to watch the game and pass the popcorn?"
Rex coughed. "Well not to make excuses but-"
"Then don't." She said bluntly. "Oh please." She said at his expression . "Whatever he thought humans were, animals or whatever or with that crab person guy- I could have died. Any one of them could have actually. Don't you dare tell me I don't have the right to be at least a little thrown by that or having a bit of a problem taking this all in." She held her head in her hands. Rex put a hand on her shoulder.
She had a point. No matter what his Uncle might say to it. She was utterly in the right to be angry about this. Heck, it could be said she was the only innocent in the entire screw up. Of course a major problem was that while Randall had settled his differences with Sulley and Fungus, and even Mike Wazowski- after all this time Boo's part in the whole 'forgiveness' circle was obviously something which had been postponed until now. Due to a little thing called age and the ability to understand more difficult topics- which at thirteen they supposed was the right age (for whatever reason). The people her potential forgiveness being directed to would be Randall, and perhaps to a lesser extent Fungus. But mostly Randall.
And she'd had a friendly relationship with the guy for years at this stage, since before she could even remember. He was almost like an Uncle to her now. Almost anyway. (He was after all primarily Rex's Uncle, and Boo more had Sulley in that department). Still it was rather a lot to take in when you realise that someone you considered family came close to experimenting on you. Which could have killed you or really hurt you no matter how careful he may have been. He'd still risked your life.
Oh and all your 'extended' family members once tried to kill each other.
Oh and they'd thought you were like a puppy or something at first. A radioactive puppy but a puppy nonetheless.
It was utterly messed up. It didn't seem real. How could any of this be real? But then he was a multiple armed monster with a remarkable resemblance to an orange lizard sat across from a dimension hopper on top of a roof in the middle of suburbia. 'Reality' itself in their case seemed to play hard and fast with the rules when it came to their lives.
"I just can't believe they expected an answer out of me just like that." She continued.
She laughed in disbelief. But it was hollow, and without feeling, so even if this had been the monster world there would have been no danger of any streetlamps nearby flickering into life.
"It does seem pretty stupid of them to expect that." Rex nodded.
"Yeah…"
For a few moments they were completely silent. A pigeon cooed nearby.
"….So do you think you can forgive him?"
"Jesus Christ Rex! Really? You ask that now?!"
"I'm not asking for a straight answer- I'm just wondering if it's you know possible with you." He fumbled with his hands.
"He didn't send you up here did he?" she said sounding suspicious.
"No. Mr. Sullivan did. He was worried about you. But, I think my Uncle kind of is too. Even if he was being a jerk there, rushing you for an answer and all." He said diplomatically.
She played with her shoe laces.
"I think it's not really a question of whether I can or not- I mean I think I can, it's just well: should I?" she queried.
Rex gave her a funny look. "He's my Uncle Boo, don't you think my answer would be a little biased?"
"You're also my best friend." She said. "It's just… the more I think about it…"
She stared into space. "What if I had died? My parents would have never even known. Their lives were almost ruined just by me disappearing for 24 hours. They could have lost their jobs. They almost lost me to the system too you know?"
Rex looked shocked at this.
"Come on: It looked suspicious Rex, that's what they told me as soon as I finally came clean about you guys existing, they said it was like a miracle that I suddenly turned up the next day." She kicked a stray pebble before continuing.
"The thing is….out of anyone, I think the people who deserve an apology too is my parents. Not just me. It doesn't feel right Rex, forgiving him, without them being okay with it. It's not as if they'd know. Do you think they'd be at all comfortable with me hanging with him after what he almost did? I love my mom but she would probably kill him. She'd turn him into gumbo Rex." She stressed, holding up her hands as if they were claws, her expression was almost comical were it not for the situation.
She looked to the side.
"And well, I'm mad but I don't want him turned into gumbo. So where does that leave me?"
Rex looked thoughtful.
"Maybe they do know? Maybe Mr. Sullivan told them? Or uh put a good word in?"
"I really doubt that somehow. I mean it's kind of hard to put a good spin on that no matter how you push the whole 'thinking I was an animal' deal. They're parents. My mother gave him cookies for Christ- I mean- Winter Solstice. Cookies! You bake cookies for people you trust and like! Everyone knows that!"
In its own strange way, that did sort of make sense. Or Boo sense at least.
Silence once again.
"You know… I'm kind of mad too." Rex said, and Boo looked up, surprised. "I might have never met you. Heck, screw that even if I hadn't met you you're right- other people in your world would have missed you. Would never have met you. And just you wouldn't exist anymore or be just… experiencing things. You know- for yourself. I'm not sure what our worlds would be like. It's like something would be seriously off and I'd never be able to figure out why whether I met you or not."
Boo rubbed one of her eyes. "Thing is too. The guy has probably suffered enough for it- you know given's Sulley's uh, less than minor… infraction." She decided she liked that word, and would choose to use it more often." But it's kind of sick isn't it? If I forgive him because of something else bad which happened to him? But then he forgave Sulley who forgave him back and I can tell he's sorry and I know it's complicated and I really want to but... my parents-"
"ARGH! I'm so confused!" she yelled throwing herself on her back. " They're ALL idiots! Is it so hard not to do something which requires forgiving you in the first place?!" A large flock pigeons had took away in fright. Her yell was such that Rex briefly wondered if it could affect the monster world just below and a door away, still filled with four rather anxious monsters nearby.
(He made a note to flick anyone in the face it they were caught listening in on this. He suddenly wished he'd done more tail-press ups.)
But he couldn't think about them- not now. His friend was the important one here. Her feelings were valid, and she needed his support.
"My head hurts too." Rex finally replied running one of his many hands over his face. "What is wrong with adults anyway? Why do they do that sort of thing? Wouldn't like chucking my Uncle through a door to make him disappear just make things more difficult for them? In the long run anyway? Wouldn't they at least think that even if they like really despised him?" He shuddered as he thought of the scar on his Uncle's face. "They must have really hated him once to do that. But then he tried to kill them too and..."
"Ugh." He then continued, sounding mildly disgusted. "Adults never think, or they probably think they'll be dead before they'll get hit with the- the re- repre- the repercussions of things. Old. Old and stupid the lot of them!"
She cracked a small smile at that, there was Rex sticking by her as usual.
"But I guess that kind of is it though isn't it?" she said looking to the sky. "I guess adults aren't perfect, but then I suppose we already knew that by now." She muttered. She sounded tired. "Perfection doesn't exist." She finally said. She then snorted. "Not that I don't have standards or anything but… yeah. No perfection here or in any world I guess."
Rex looked at her briefly taking in her thoughtful expression. Then he looked away.
"You're kind of close though…" he murmured.
"….What?" she sat up and leaned over, her braided pony tail swinging as she raised an eyebrow at him.
He flushed red and said nothing.
"What did you just say? You were mumbling something."
"I- I- didn't say anything! You're just hearing things."
"Yes you did!"
"It was nothing!"
"...Why are you blending out then?"
"I AM NOT! SHUT UP!"
Boo laughed. Maybe things would be okay after all. They could get through this. They could get through anything after all, as long as they had each other.
