Timeline note: Set a few years after Mike and Sulley start working at MI, but before they become a scare team. Or, for those who know my other stories, between Elevated and Image Detail.

Rating note: There's the tiniest reference to something adult related, but if you're not old enough to understand it, you're not even gonna spot it, so I'm not upping the rating for that. ;)

"…and then we're going to the Tar Springs, and if the evening illumination hits that shiny surface just right, it's gonna create the greatest sparkly effect she has ever seen, and she's gonna remember this all her life, and why aren't you unlocking the damned door already?!"

Sulley jumped a bit at his best friend's sudden loudness, so he inevitably dropped the key ring he had been holding. With a groan, he bent down to retrieve it. "Mike, calm down! Maybe if you'd let me concentrate, I'd be able to get our key!" Grumbling to himself a bit, he started over.

"I'm panicking here!" Mike announced, as if it was not obvious, and waved his bouquet of flowers around for emphasis. "If I can't get into the apartment, I can't get ready, and if I can't get ready, I can't go back to meet Celia, and if she has to wait for me too long, maybe she's gonna go home, and if this is over after just the second date, I'm never gonna…"

Sulley tuned him out. Sometimes, Mike could really get on his nerves. So he went back to the task at hand; it would not do to be trapped, so to speak, outside of their own apartment, right?

Why did he have so many keys, anyway? Now, this should not be so hard… the one for his MI locker stood out; it was much smaller than the rest of them. That one was for his parents' home, another for the garage. A smaller one was for Mike's parents' home – he still had no idea why Mrs. Wazowski had insisted on giving him this – and the one with the horns was for the Squibbles' home. Still didn't explain the multitude of keys on his chain… ah wait, wasn't it this one?

"…and it's gonna end with me being heartbroken, and you don't want that, do you?"

"No, Mike," Sulley agreed as he pushed open their door, "I definitely don't want that." And it was true. While Mike would certainly be talking less, the pain he would have to endure just would not be worth it.

And in all honesty, Sulley admitted to himself as he watched Mike race across the living room over to the kitchen immediately, he would probably miss the constant noise.

"Do we have a vase?" Mike called over from the kitchen. "I don't think we bought one, did we? Imagine, four years in this place and we never thought to buy a vase!"

Sulley chuckled to himself, eternally amused by Mike's tendency to answer his own questions. "No, we didn't buy one," he confirmed, going over to join him. "But you said you'd leave right away; do you honestly think they won't survive a few minutes without water?"

Mike blinked at him, then back at the flowers, and then, again, back at him. Finally, he dropped them on the table to go over to the bathroom. "I swear, I have rancid chip fat all over me! I hate serving fried stuff!"

"You didn't say that when Frank McCay got some off you!" Sulley teased him through the open kitchen door. "Can't have it both ways!" The truth was that he didn't much like the smell, either; he preferred Old Dumpster by far. That, and the fat tended to make his fur all sticky. But, well, they had revolutionized both the mail delivery and the janitorial duties already, so he supposed it was only a matter of time until they found a way to up the cafeteria's hygiene standards.

Until Mike found a way. He was the one who got things going.

Mike had been quiet for a while, but that was probably due to the running water. With his huge mouth, he tended to always half-drown himself in the shower. But it was not long until the sound subsided.

"I'm gonna fix myself a sandwich or something," Sulley announced, stepping out into the main room again in order to witness the reaction. "You want anything?"

At that, the bathroom door opened and Mike poked his head around the corner in confusion. "I'm taking her to dinner, Sul! Wouldn't do to stuff my face beforehand, right? I mean, what am I supposed to do, sit there and watch her chew?"

Sulley rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchen. His gaze lingered on the flowers for a moment, but he shook his head and went to find something edible in the fridge. Preferably something that needed a lot of preparation, something that would occupy him for a while, because the truth was, he was jealous.

Oh, not of the flowers, or of being all lovey-dovey with Mike like that Celia was; in fact, the mere thought creeped him out. But it irked him that she got so much of Mike's attention these days. What had happened to the two best buddies hanging out and watching movies together? Why were their training sessions getting so far between? Lately, it seemed as if Mike was never home. When had they had their last Oozma Kappa meeting with the guys?

No, wait, that had been just last week. He was probably getting paranoid.

"Sul, I'm talking to you!"

Sulley flinched and dropped a plastic bottle of… something, one that he had not even realized he had been holding. "Sorry, couldn't decide whether to go with grease or mayonnaise!" he lied, reading the latter off the cover of what he was currently picking up.

Mike did not seem to hear him. "I said I'm leaving. You know, so that you'll notice that I'm not there anymore?"

"I'll notice," Sulley quipped, trying to smile. "No one will be talking."

"Ha, ha," Mike deadpanned and tried to kick him, but he slipped in a mayonnaise stain instead and had to clutch the door frame for support. "Anyway, you just have a nice evening, and I really don't mind you using my CDs, but do me a favor and leave them in order this time, okay?"

Suppressing a sigh, Sulley smirked instead. "Why? You love ordering things! If I mess them up, it'll only give you something fun to do."

"I love having things in order," Mike corrected. "Big difference." With that, he grabbed his own key ring and headed for the front door. "Don't know how long I'll be gone. I don't think I'll be staying the night with her, it's probably too soon for that kind of thing, but, uh…" He blushed a bit at that point, then looked away and went on. "But if I do or she comes here or something, I'll be sure to give you a call first."

Sulley felt a surprisingly powerful wave of resentment at that implication. He did not want her in here. Not one bit. "That's reassuring," he replied anyway, trying to push down what he recognized as irrational and completely silly. "Try to let her get a word in edgewise, will you?"

Mike glared at him with a half-lidded eye, but it came off more like pouting than anything else. "I'll try and remember," he scoffed, and then, finally, left the apartment. "See you later, Big Guy," he threw back over his shoulder at the last moment, because leaving in a bad mood just was not something they did. And finally, the door clicked shut behind him.

Heaving a sigh, Sulley went back to the kitchen to actually assemble that sandwich, but then realized he was not all that hungry, so he went over to the bathroom instead to take a shower of his own. He hated getting his fur wet, though, so he decided to just endure the stickiness and find himself something to do.

It was not until he had checked their entire movie collection three times that he admitted defeat and just slumped into that brand new custom-made armchair that even had a hole for his tail. Should that not have made him happy? It was so comfortable! But he knew he would not be able to distract himself from the situation.

He was not deluding himself. He knew this was not forever. Although it was only a slowly budding romance at present, if things ever grew serious between Mike and Celia…

He knew Mike would not be with him forever, knew it was not his place to ask that of his friend… and was not sure he even wanted to.

To him, Mike was everything he needed. Someone who believed in him, believed in qualities he himself did not believe he had. Someone who did not expect him to be anything except himself. As long as Mike was around, Sulley felt powerful.

But to Mike, there was so much more out there. For all his intellect and maturity - well, at least when it was important - he was still a wide-eyed kid at heart. He wanted the world, and with accomplishing things as impossible as earning Hardscrabble's respect, leading Oozma Kappa to victory, or blowing up the door lab, he had obviously developed the belief that striving for greatness was not as hopeless a cause as it seemed at first glance.

And Sulley wanted him so badly to succeed! He had seen his friend in his darkest moments, in complete despair, without any hope, and had even been the one to cause the negative feelings a few times. Watching Mike like that was nothing short of painful, and if there was anything Sulley could do to help him be happy, he wanted to do it.

Even if it meant letting him go.

"Sulley? Woah, Sul, are you really just spacing out or is this something serious?"

The sudden, unexpected sound right next to him brought Sulley's thoughts back to reality. He looked down, only to find Mike staring up at him, looking concerned. "You with me? I've been trying to get your attention for minutes."

Sulley resisted the urge to rub his eyes. "Mike? What are you doing here? You cancel your date with Celia or something?" He was ashamed at himself for the hopeful note in his voice. With a little luck, his friend might not have noticed.

"Nonsense," Mike chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, the way he always did when he was feeling sheepish. "I just forgot to bring the flowers. Can you believe me? Imagine me trying to take her out without having any kind of present!"

"You sound like the twins," Sulley teased. "Well, go grab them, then. You don't want to stand her up, do you?"

But of course, he had not managed to fool Mike with the change of topic. "You sure you're all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sulley lied, trying to sound, what would be the best emotion here… surprised at the mere idea? "I just wasn't expecting you back yet."

Mike raised half a brow at him. He had obviously seen through the charade – they just could not lie to each other – but did not push the issue. And he was short on time. "Whatever you say, Sul. Now, where'd I put them…" He averted his gaze, nervously scanning the living room.

"Well, I didn't move them from the kitchen table," Sulley supplied, grinning. "If you didn't either, maybe you want to start looking there."

Mike did not even let him finish the sentence before scrambling away. He tripped over the edge of the carpet, but caught himself in time. Sulley barely flinched anymore, having become accustomed to Mike's occasional near-accidents by now and trusting his friend to be able to handle them.

That was just the thing. Mike did not really need him. If it had not been for Sulley's intervention, Mike would have left him standing right there in front of MU, would have disappeared from his life, maybe forever. What it was he stuck around for, Sulley was not sure.

"Got 'em!" Mike exclaimed upon reentering the room, holding the beautiful bouquet close to himself as if afraid he might lose track of it again if he let it get out of his sight for too long.

"So what are you waiting for?" Sulley asked him with a smile, and was relieved to find that it was a genuine one. "She's probably getting impatient by now."

"Well, we didn't exactly agree on a set time…" Mike mumbled, but trailed off. He made no effort to actually leave the apartment a second time.

Sulley studied him for a moment. Who was the one not being okay here? "What? You forget the meeting spot or something?"

"I just…" Mike began, then sighed. "I kinda wish I could bring you along."

Sulley could not help himself. He laughed. "Don't you think that would ruin the romantic mood and stuff?"

"Well, yeah," Mike agreed, and Sulley could see his face split into a smile, too. Good, that was way better than the nervousness. "It's just… it feels weird doing things without someone having my back. Haven't done that in a while."

Sulley blinked at him for a few seconds. He wanted to answer, but found he could not find the right words. An awkward silence fell between them, which was really odd, as Mike was the one person with whom he never felt awkward being silent.

"…you'll be fine, Mike," he finally said, hoping his friend would catch the firm conviction in his voice. "It's gonna be a wonderful evening for both of you. Just go there and charm her as you always do." He hesitated, then decided the reassurance would not be as powerful without adding the last bit. "You don't need me."

Mike looked up at him again and frowned. "Now that's a stupid statement if I've ever heard one."

Sulley was about to say something – even though he himself had no idea yet what it would be – but Mike lightly whacked his knee with the flowers, just enough to not ruin them, and made for the door. "Well, whatever. Still don't know when I'll be back, yadda, yadda." He turned around in the door frame, still frowning. "Maybe you should go to bed, your head's not on straight."

Sulley was not sure why, but he felt his eyes watering. He tried to hide that fact by throwing a pillow after his friend. "Would you just leave already?!"

Mike faked a frightened squeak – it must be fake, as there was a wide grin plastered onto his face – and hastily closed the door behind himself before the non-lethal projectile could find its intended target.

Sulley chuckled at him. Or maybe it was sobbing. He was not quite sure right now.

In a sudden burst of energy, he got out of his chair and collected the pillow. Time to find himself something to do. He could really use that sandwich now.

He had almost made his way over to the kitchen when he remembered the pillow still in his hand. Smirking to himself, he turned around. One well-aimed toss later, it landed right in the stack of CDs, scattering them all over the floor and in front of the fireplace.

He could not wait to hear Mike berate him for it when he got back.

Note: This is actually older than Image Detail. While it stands on its own, it's also supposed to set the tone for my multi-chapter Chances, but as I need to get Variance out of the way first and didn't want to leave this one shot stewing on my hard drive for at least a year... well, whatever. ;)

If you don't want to miss Variance and Chances (info on both of which you can find in my profile), feel free to put me on author alert or follow my twitter account UntoldStoriesMU.