A/N: Here's chapter 2 as promised!

Chapter 2- One Step Further

"'Hey, James, I think we should take things a step further. What about you?' No, no, no, that's too cliché. 'James, I can't live without you─' ugh, too desperate! Damn it all to hell, this is hard!"

Randall paced back and forth along his balcony, ignoring the cold wind and the snow on the floor. He was frustrated that he couldn't seem to think of any way to pop the question to Sulley, or to at least get the conversation started. He continued to mutter and curse to himself, and scowled down at the ring as he opened its box. "Why can't I just show YOU to him and he gets the picture?" he snapped, almost as if he expected the ring to give a snide remark in return. He was about ready to throw the ring across Monstropolis and call the whole proposal off, but now he felt he was in too deep because he had Sulley worried. He stopped his pacing as he walked up to the door, closing his eyes while he took a deep breath.

"Keep it together, Boggs. Just go in there, act cool." he said to himself, closing the ring box slowly. "You can do this. Just keep calm, and even if it gets crazy, don't turn invisible. Just brave it." He looked back down at the box and closed his eyes. These two years had been the greatest years of he had in a long time, and probably the best in his life so far. And it was thanks to his friends, it was thanks to Sulley that he'd grown into the monster he is now. Knowing that gave him strength and courage, and though the air outside was cold and he was scared of what to come, he gave a warm smile that could melt the snow around him.

"I can do this... because I love him," said Randall proudly, returning the ring to his pocket. He fixed his cardigan and his glasses, then opened the door to get back into the living room. "Hey, James, can we─"

Randall paused when he walked back into his apartment, noticing that things had changed significantly. The candles that were on the table were out, the table he prepared had been cleaned off and its tablecloth was folded, the leftovers were in containers, the dishes were drying in the rack by the sink. And to top it off, there was a certain blue monster with purple polka-dots that was missing from the room.

"...James?" called Randall frantically, as he walked around the living room. The bravado that he had before had turned to nervousness once again. This wasn't good, Sulley wasn't there and he didn't hear him answer back. Had he left? Oh god, how was he going to propose now if his boyfriend wasn't there?! He slinked through the kitchen and the rest of the living room, but he stopped to notice that Sulley's duffle bag still sat by the couch's legs.

"Good, he's still here..." Randall let out a sigh of relief. "Which means that he's in the bedroom."

Randall opened the door to his room and turned on the lights, but he still didn't find Sulley. "Ugh.." he groaned as he massaged his head soothingly. He was beyond confused and even more annoyed that his boyfriend managed to disappear without the use of camouflaging. How could he have lost a seven foot monster after 15 minutes?

Just as he was ready to keep searching, he heard the flushing of a toilet, along with the sound of running water, coming from the bathroom door. Randall turned his head toward the door, crossing his arms impatiently as he waited for Sulley to finish up and come out.

The light cut off from behind the door, the knob twisted and out walked Sulley, who doubled back in shock to see Randall standing right there in front of the door.

"Crap, Randy, you scared me..." breathed Sulley, walking up to Randall with his arms outstretched for a hug. "Are you feeling okay now?"

Randall narrowed his eyes at Sulley, not moving an inch to join the embrace. "What do you think you're doing?"

Sulley looked back at the bathroom door, then back at Randall. "...Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I want to─ ugh, GOD, James, that's vile!" cried Randall, his lip turned up in disgust at the larger monster's vulgar response. "That is NOT what I meant!"

Sulley chuckled jollily in hopes that Randall would laugh with him, though the purple monster clearly wasn't amused. "Sorry."

"You're damn right, sorry!" yelled Randall. "Sometimes I swear you're such a teenager!"

"Oh, and you're not acting like one now?" retorted Sulley smugly, raising at eyebrow. "C'mon, you've been acting weird all night, let's just get some rest and─ "

"NO!" shouted Randall defiantly, surprising both himself and the blue monster. He looked at Sulley with wide eyes, while Sulley looked back at Randall as if he finally made the chameleon snap.

'Shit, I didn't mean to yell!' thought Randall, holding his head, 'He's looking at me like I've gone crazy!'

The two stood in silence, tension thickening the air and awkwardness had slowed time to where a few seconds seemed like an unfortunate eternity. Randall was ready to panic at a moment's notice, but he also had a job to do. He didn't want to end this evening until he'd finally proposed to Sulley, whether it was awkward or not. Randall regained his composure as he took a deep breath, and looked up at Sulley once again.

"Let's go in the living room" he spoke softly, causing the blue monster to look back at him. "I want to talk to you."

Sulley watched Randall walk out of the bedroom and sit on the sofa in the living room. Sulley still felt things had gotten weird for a few minutes, and he began to wonder why Randall was acting so strangely tonight. He was being shifty, then rather somber, and then flat out angry with Sulley. And now he was just sitting on the couch as if nothing happened. The blue monster hesitantly walked into the living room, the tense and awkward air still lingered around like a cloud above his head. He picked his mind for the reasons why Randall was being so different towards him now, even after having what he thought was a pleasant dinner. When he finally got to the couch, he slowly took his seat as he thought of all the possible outcomes that would arise from this talk.

"So... you want to talk?" asked Sulley sheepishly, turning his body to face Randall on the opposite end of the sofa.

"Yes." said Randall, taking off his glasses and setting them on the coffee table. "James, these... these two years have been so wonderful between us. And I've never been happier... well, of course, aside from earlier... I sort of panicked and everything, b-but it's not your fault! I just want you to know that."

Sulley raised an eyebrow at Randall's comment. "Yeeeeah..."

Randall gulped, wringing all four of his hands nervously as he continued. "A-And.. I-I-I've learned so much from y-you. I mean, for so long... I was jealous of you..." Randall's eyes softened as he remembered the Scare Games and his days at Monsters Incorporated. "College was supposed to be a fresh start for me... it was my chance to be someone, and you took that from me. Hell, you were expelled for pulling off one of the greatest scares ever with Mike... who was probably my only real friend that I had made..."

Randall winced from his memories, but continued on. "I couldn't stand losing to you... you had friends and fans, you were the textbook definition of a "scarer"... And no matter how close I came to getting ahead of you... Even when you were weak or behind me... it never lasted. You always seemed to come back and just take that victory, that spotlight, from me." Randall sighed sadly, resting his hands on his slender body. "I never got to feel special, not even once. ...I really hated you, James."

Sulley looked at Randall with concern as he recounted his days at the factory. He knew he and Randall were rivals, and they had never gotten along before. Hearing what Randall had to say now was nothing new to him, but those words cut deep every time he head them. He couldn't be empathetic, not this time, not for Randall when he needed it most. He certainly knew what it was like to fail, but not like Randall had. He wanted to take Randall into his arms, but stopped himself as Randall started talking.

"Those eight months that I spent in that swamp felt like eight years of hell for me." breathed Randall, his tail curling up painfully as he remembered his banishment. "I plotted ways to kill you if I'd ever found a way to get out of that cursed pit of the human world... but then... I gave up. I gave up being jealous of you. I gave up trying to be the best. I gave up revenge..." said Randall, trying to keep his voice from quivering.

"I felt that the world was better off without me... I just wanted to die. But I couldn't even do that right..."

Sulley looked at the lower part of Randall's back underneath the end of his sweater. There was a scar that went down the chameleon's back, that he had received from his banishment. He couldn't remember if the Randall had gotten it from trying to survive or from attempted suicides, but it was always visible when the purple monster wasn't invisible or camouflaging. Sulley had a hard time forgiving himself even now for banishing Randall three years ago, he himself had nightmares and suffered the guilt of it all during the months Randall was gone. He didn't care if it was awkward anymore, he wanted to hug Randall and hold him so close that he would never go away again.

"Randall..." said the blue monster was ready to take Randall into his arms. "Look, I'm─"

"No, James." objected Randall firmly, moving Sulley's arm down. "I need to say this... just listen to me..."

Sulley looked at Randall with confusion and sadness in his eyes, wondering why Randall kept pushing him away like this all night. He had no idea what Randall was doing, and what had seemed the most plausible idea at that moment frightened him.

Was Randall breaking up with him?

Sulley wanted Randall to stop talking, from telling that painful, painful story of his. It was awful, and now the memories swirled through his head along with the idea that their relationship was coming to an end. He buried his head into his hand, his chest began to feel heavy and his eyes stung, but Randall somehow managed to keep going.

"But when I returned to Monstropolis again... you, of all monsters, helped ME." breathed Randall, holding himself so that he wouldn't fall apart. "I hated it... I hated that you had to have pity on me. Of all the monsters in Monstropolis, no, in the world, it had to be you." Randall held himself tightly, but his grip on his arms began to relax and he breathed easily.

"But... I'm glad that it was you, James."

Sulley said nothing, his hand still on his face. Randall looked at him, he knew this story wasn't easy for either of them, but he smiled warmly. "With you, I realized that... I can't keep blaming you for my shortcomings... or using you as my target... I was angry with you... but I hated myself more." Randall looked down at his glasses on the coffee table. "But you were willing to help me despite all I did to you... and we forgave one another. You were my friend... and eventually I made more friends... even in Mike. I learned to love myself again." He turned back to Sulley, and moved closer to the blue monster. "I learned to love you. And I knew from then on I needed you more than ever... but..."

"But?" said Sulley, his speech muffled as he removed his head from his hands, but his tone of voice sounded angry. "What now, Randall?"

"Well... now..." said Randall, looking down. "I don't know. We've conquered so much together, I don't know how much further we can go."

Sulley sighed, a stern expression on his face as he turned back to Randall. "So... this is it."

Randall paused and looked over to Sulley. "This is what?"

"It. The end." said Sulley. "You're breaking up with me, right?"

Randall's eyes widened, taken aback by Sulley's response. "Wait, what?"

"You know what, don't say anything," breathed Sulley angrily. "You've made things perfectly clear already. You invited me over for dinner without telling me why, you cook my favorite meal to "cushion the blow", and you've been weird all night!" Sulley stammered trying to find the words to say to Randall, but he grabbed the air and balled his fists in frustration.

Randall stared blankly as he watched Sulley grow angry with him from their talk. Though he'd normally retort back with a fiery comment, the corner of his mouth turned up. He found himself... chuckling at Sulley. The chuckling grew to giggling, and then Randall started to burst with laughter. He held himself as his stomach tightened, and his eyes grew glassy with tears as he laughed hard at the idea of the talk leading to a break up.

"It's not funny, Randall!" roared Sulley angrily. "Shit, I was being serious!"

"Th-Th-That's why it's funny!" chortled Randall, his diaphragm and lungs burning warmly as he kept laughing. "Y-You thought I was breaking up with you? And to think you call ME sensitive!"

Sulley's angry expression lifted, completely lost in what was going on. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay stop laughing. STOP." Randall tried to catch his breath in between chuckles, wiping the tears from his eyes as Sulley tried to piece things together. "So you AREN'T breaking up with me?"

"No... no..." sighed Randall satisfied from his fit of laughter. "That felt good, things had been going weird all night, and laughing about it made me feel so much better... I was worried at first, but seeing you get worked up... PRICELESS."

Sulley shot a venomous glare at Randall, feeling that he had been punked. "So what is all this about, then?"

Randall took Sulley's left hand and held it in his lap, rubbing the large palm gently to get him to calm down. "Okay, okay... well... all this time I was wondering what I should say to you... but I know now." Randall took another deep breath, which felt like his hundredth deep breath over the course of this evening, and looked into Sulley's eyes.

"James... I would never have thought that I would come to love you after all these years, but I'm glad that you wanted me to be my boyfriend when you asked me out two years ago, on a night like this one."

Sulley blinked as he stared into Randall's emerald colored eyes, which seemed to shine so brightly like the stars in the sky. He closed his hand as Randall held it, nodding at his lover's words. "Yeah... I feel the same way..."

"Though I feel like we can't go any further as we are now... I feel like it's time to take another step so we can move forward."

Sulley followed Randall's eyes, still hanging on the last words that the chameleon said; "move forward". He broke his gaze from Randall's eyes as he felt those small, purple hands slip from the grip of his larger one, now fixing his gaze onto those same hands as they dug into the cardigan's pocket. He was ready to ask what his boyfriend was doing, but as he saw Randall kneel onto the floor, his heart had stopped in awe once he found the answer.

Randall gazed back into Sulley's cerulean eyes with wonderment and pride as he opened the box, revealing a monster sized ring large enough to fit those furry fingers. He spoke his next words clearly and with certainty, as if he'd had never been more sure of something in his entire lifetime.

"I love you so much, James P. Sullivan. Will you marry me?"

Sulley's eyes grew glassy, overcome by his Randall's proposal and declaration of their love. The next thing he knew he picked up Randall and hugged his lover so tightly so that he'd never lose him again. They parted for a second, Randall placed his hands on Sulley's shoulders as Sulley leaned down to passionately kiss his boyfriend, who was now his fiancé.

The two continued in their embrace until Sulley pulled away, smiling down at Randall. "I love you too. And yes, I'll marry you, Randall Boggs."

Randall smiled, kissing Sulley on the lips once again, but briefly. As they stepped back for a second, they held each other's hands in silence, no words needed to be shared. Just looking into each other's eyes was enough to get to show how elated they were to begin this new chapter in their lives.

However, some things needed to be stated otherwise, as Randall opened up his mouth to interrupt their dreamy state. "Uh... James..."

"Hmmm? What is it, Randy?" asked Sulley, still entranced.

"Could you get the ring? I think it fell under the couch." requested Randall sheepishly.

"You already lost it? I'm gonna be worried now when the wedding draws near." Sulley chuckled, kissing Randall's hand as he got down near the sofa to lift it. "Sure thing."

-END-

I hope you enjoyed the fanfiction! I hope to continue this story further involving Randall and Sulley, but only time will tell. Thank you so much for reading.

─GalaxyBats