I am piano.
Sulley was getting ready to go to MU's annual college fire that was just around their neighborhood when he noticed Mike was just sitting there.
"Mike?" Sulley asked as he peered over in his general direction. "You coming?"
"It's okay, you go on without me. I'll catch up with you in a little bit." Mike said without turning to look at Sulley.
Mike had been acting differently these past few days, he seemed gloomy at times and at others a little aggressive, his behavior was a little unpredictable, but the one thing that remained constant was his avoidance of interpersonal conversations. Those actions seemed vaguely familiar to Sulley, so much so that they reminded him of himself a couple of months back. When he saw it like that, it was no surprise to him that he would try to get out of this one.
"You okay?" Sulley asked, showing a little concern.
Even though he never talked about it, it was obvious what was bothering him. It was the fact that he would never be a scarer, what else could it be? He had fought so hard for it, he was more determined than anybody and yet, he failed. Mike seemed to hide his emotions once they left the human world. He never once brought it up. Sulley didn't blame him, it was hard to let go of childhood dreams. He experienced that first hand when he was denied membership to the RΩR house. He wanted that more than life itself. He wanted to be part of a group who wouldn't look up to him for his name, but for his accomplishments, a group where they were all equals, where he was no longer the one on top, where his expectations were equal to the others. When he found out that was never going to happen, that his expectations were too high, he felt devastated. He felt detached from reality for an entire week. For someone who hasn't experienced that, the time he experienced that might seem like nothing, but for the one that experienced it it's an eternity.
At first, Sulley thought it was just that Mike moved on pretty fast, but those emotions were repressed, and anything that's repressed long enough can have negative consequences.
"It's nothing." Mike said.
He knew that was a lie. His behavior didn't go without repercussions. He usually looked forward to this event and it's significance, they'd never missed one. His lack of interest gave him away.
"Mike," Sulley persisted.
"It's Celia. She said maybe we should start seeing other people."
Sulley stood silent for a minute, and just as he was about to speak, he saw Mike grab his ID and head towards the door.
Mike got inspired to go because he didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want to hold back Sulley from this yearly activity. One thing was for sure though, he wasn't looking forward to seeing other alumni there, especially Randall and the rest of RΩR.
Sulley knew it was more than what he'd said, but he didn't want to push any further. He understood perfectly, sometimes all it takes is one thing to set you into a downwards spiral. He knew how much time he'd dedicated to Celia, school, and work. It seemed everything he was passionate about went to hell.
It was dark out, Sulley admired the scenery as Mike locked the door behind him. The silence on the way to the school was to be expected, but once they got closer they could see the light the fire gave out being reflected on the pavement. They started to hear a crowd as they got closer.
Sometimes we need reminders as to why we do things. The fire was a symbol for our lives, their unpredictability and their constant change. The uncaused cause of change. The incarnation of the will. Bringing endless possibilities for the future. A new perspective and a new start. It made us value things like knowledge, kindness, truth, individuality, wisdom, and responsibility.
After a while, other monsters started to disperse, taking the parties back to their place, while a few decided to stay to look at the stars, and admire the beauty of nature. Mike & Sulley stayed, listening to the wind, the crackling fire, the crickets, feeling the fresh air as they watched the stars. They hadn't spoken a word since they got there, but Mike broke the silence.
"The first time she called me Googlie Bear I wanted the world to stay like that forever."
Sulley looked over at him, then back at the stars and said, "I don't know why, Mike, but I have the strangest feeling that things are going to work themselves out."
"In how long?"
"I don't know. Could be months, but they will."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Sulley." Mike paused, looking away for a second and then continued, "It seems like everything I do backfires on me. I'm about to give up."
"Mike, I know your job as a scaring assistant might not be very fulfilling, and I know it might feel like you've got nothing left, but if that's the case, you can't lose. There's nowhere to go, but up from here."
Mike didn't think Sulley had any grounds to say what he'd just said. He was a good scarer, he could hide his emotions perfectly, and things weren't that bad for him anymore, so he said, "I dare you to walk a block in my shoes."
Sulley turned to him with eyes of understanding and he saw something in Mike that most people didn't see. He saw the very eyes of age, the ideal Monster.
"You know, Mike. you might not have gotten what you wanted, but you know what you can do?" There was a slight pause before he continued, "You can hold infinity."
"What?"
"Most people don't look past what's attainable for them, but you go beyond that. You might seem insignificant in this vast, ever-growing universe, but you're capable of understanding and grasping every aspect of it."
Mike got a little impatient and said, "Sulley, let's run away." To which Sulley looked at him with a mixture of empathy and sympathy. "Don't ask me why, but.. these small town dreams are not for me. We have to run away 'cause we're built for so much more..."
Sulley didn't know why, but he heard Mike's voice getting louder and louder as he went on, but nobody else seemed to notice, maybe it was just him.
He kissed Mike. Time stopped.
It was at that moment that his derealization met realization and he realized that he would be happy living the life he lead just how it was.
Because Mike wasn't dating Celia anymore, when Boo got released to the Monster world, Sulley didn't have to go to Harryhausen's to tell Mike about the girl, instead, he went to their apartment. Since he didn't go to the restaurant, the news didn't spread out. It was kept hidden from the public, not even Randall knew. The rest played out like it was supposed to; they tried to sneak Boo past the entrance and into the scare floor, but not without complications.
And luckily for Mike, when the factory was shut down it was rebooted by his best friend, and he got to do the next best thing, not scaring, but making kids laugh.
They hit a glitch, now things were running smoothly. Life was theirs for the taking.
Author's Note: If you liked this story you might also enjoy "Mutter: A Stutter", another Monsters Inc/University story I wrote a while back.