Sulley found Mike's recent absence around the apartment both easier and harder than he expected. The mornings were silent and lifeless, besides when he would attempt to make conversations, only to realize Mike was not there to hear him. Most of the mornings were spent listening to his coffee boil or the preppy news anchors discussing mostly unpleasant stories in local neighbor hoods; Usually somehow related to the rolling black outs that were now considered to be the norm and expected. Mike had promised once he and Celia were settled Mike would make an effort to drive to Sulley's place for their work out in the mornings. It wouldn't be an issue since Mike had always been an early bird and would probably be board at home anyway.
Sulley attempted to rent out the now vacant room, he had a few takers, even Waxford was looking for a place closer to work. Sulley always found a reason to turn the potential roommates down; he was secretly waiting for Randall to call. Sulley walked into work alone, making rainy day trips rather lonesome, but on bright days the friendly neighbors were out to take his mind off the short trek to the Inc building. Sulley even began waiting by the bus stop for Randall to show up, at first the lizard was caught off guard and rather annoyed by the act, even turning invisible to slip passed Sullivan a few times. Eventually Randall stopped complaining about Sulley waiting for him, he even started making the best of it, enjoying their incredibly short chat as they crossed the parking lot and headed to the change room.
For the last week Waternoose had been hanging around the scare floor more often, rumors even spread about a big emergency simulation that was supposedly going to happen soon. Of course this was only un-factual gossip and Waternoose's real concerns were with a certain lizard employee of his. Both Randall and Sullivan had noticed Waternoose's gaze predominantly fall on Randy as he worked, cautiously looking for any signs of deteriorating health, he wanted to catch Randall's symptoms before other workers had a chance to pick up on them. Sulley got the feeling Randy didn't like the constant surveillance, it seemed like everyone was looking at him weird, Sulley, Waternoose, even Mike's eye would wonder to his abdomen. Randall made it his hobby to vanish every lunch hour to get away from everyone, Sulley included.
When he returned from lunch this day he had a little green to his scales, Sulley took immediate notice. "Are you okay? Looking a little pale" He tried saying as casually as possible, masking his concern. Randall's scales returned to normal after being informed, it must have been in his subconscious. "I feel fine" he said taking a deep slow breath, as if to calm himself.
"Maybe you should sit out for a while" Sulley offered but Randall didn't bite. "I said I feel fine!" He repeated defensively.
Sulley looked at him unconvinced for a moment before the second bell rant, alerting the scaeres to return to their stations and prepare for the count down. Randall walked by Sulley as Mike prepped the station, ordering another door. Fungus was a tad behind as he often was, only ordering the door once Sulley's and a few others were securely in place. The door he received was a light blue with rocket ship stickers crudely stuck all over it. Randall found himself frowning as he idly began wondering what his own child's door would look like; he hoped it would be able to sustain damage. Sulley's door was a plain white that looked a bit pink due to the red lights reflection. Randall felt momentarily dizzy, putting his body's weight on one side as he attempted to be still.
The floor manager Jerry began the count down, starting from ten and going silent at three, soon a horn blew and the scarers were off running through the doors. Randall hesitated slightly but picked up his feet only a step or two behind the others. He opened the blue door and became silent, walking into the dark room with only a single night light to illuminate his steps. He shut the door gently behind him, skillfully avoiding the toys as he fell onto all eight and crawled low to the ground. He sat at the end of the bed, ready to make his move before a similar feeling struck, a nauseating sickness that came from his stomach.
He panicked slightly as his body began heaving; he did his best to hold back the feeling of sickness, keeping his lips closed tightly as he breathed in deep from his nose. When he heard the child stir Randall cloaked himself poorly and crawled under the bed he was hiding against. He could not get sick, not in here. He rested his head against the carpeted floor, relaxing his body as he waited for any immediate danger of throwing up to pass.
His tail curled against his body as he collapsed his hand over his mouth, he heaved again. He heard the bed springs move above him, the child was sitting up now. Randall curled into himself further, he should have listened to Sulley and stood out a few minutes until lunch settled, He was regretting what he had ate, even if he made an effort to eat less due to nausea that came randomly over the last few days.
Randall heard the bed squeaking again, he followed the sound closely with wide eyes as the springs above him made the child's position obvious. He saw pale, fleshy feet hanging over the bed then land softly on the carpet. The child's movements were slow and cautious, obviously scared as he fell to his knees, his hand moving to the bed's skirt. Randall hoped his camouflage was working as the child lifted the sheet suddenly. Their eyes locked. Randall's heart jumped from his chest as he internally screamed 'he can see me!' After a second that felt more like an eternity the child blinked, his eyes moved from Randall to a dusty ball that seemed like it hadn't been played with in months.
Randall had taken far too long inside his room, Fungus had begun to panic after the first minute, alerting Jerry who instantly approached the door; he gave Randall another thirty seconds before alerting Waternoose. Sullivan noticed the commotion, although Jerry and Waternoose tried to keep a low profile; Fungus was a dead giveaway. Sulley left his station and tried walking over casually, repressing any horrifying assumptions his mind was making about the whole situation. "Hey Fungus, what's going on?" He hoped it had nothing to do with Randall.
"Randall still hasn't come out from his first scare!" Sully shivered a bit, that was the last thing he wanted to hear. It's didn't happen often that a monster would just vanish behind a door, never to return. But Sulley had heard some stories and didn't like how similar these events were to those.
By this time Mike was standing next to Sulley, staring at the growing commotion with a small gap in his lips. He looked up at Sulley who had a hard look in his eyes, one of determination and a bit of fear. 'They could be killing him' Sulley thought, the boiling in his stomach rising as he silently begged for Randall to come out of the door unharmed. Mike recognized the look of adrenaline, but before he realized it was the same look he had gotten at the human camp 10 years ago Sulley had made his move. 'They could be killing their child' with that realization Sullivan walked hastily to the door that was being taped up with caution yellow banners. He heard Mike's voice yell at him to stop, but Sulley didn't, he was fully prepared to barge in there and drag Randall back with him in good health. Old habits were hard to break.
Sulley put his hand on the child's door knob, feeling home free as he turned it slightly, only to have Waternoose push him away at the very last second. "James! What is the meaning of this?" He said as he walked with his fists tight in a ball, one hand grabbing Sulley's arm and forcing him away. Sulley just looked at the door, regretting not making it. He stared in horror. "You cannot barge through an unsecured human door! For all we know Boggs is just waiting it out until the parents leave"
Sulley might have admitted that Waternoose had a point, but he had not been listening very intently. By now his mind was a racing cluttered mess, regretting that he had not opened the door sooner. He stared at the uneventful door, completely drained and feeling entirely useless.
The child stay lying on the ground rather lazily, he looked almost afraid to avert his eyes from under the bed; Randall hoped the kid was not planning on sleeping there. Randy kept himself a safe distance, which he wished was back on the scare floor far away from the toxins that surrounded him and became more dangerous the longer he lingered there. Finally the child made a move, looking like it was ready to stand up from its spot on the floor. Randall felt another heave coming on, dropping his guard as his scales returned to their natural dark purple. The child looked like he … well saw a monster. His eyes went impossibly large and for a moment Randall felt a ping of guilt as the child ran screaming for its parents. But that guilt could not last as Randy felt his food contents rising, deciding to bolt for the closet as the houses lights began turning on, and footsteps were heard coming from the hall Randall ran quickly to the closet, his hands second set of arms wrapped around his stomach while his first grasped his mouth and jiggled the knob, before pulling it open.
Sulley was now put under watch of Mike, who was determined to keep his friend from doing anything reckless. Now that the CDA was here Sulley's interference in would be a criminal offense, most likely just a slap on the wrist due to his celebrity like status around town, but it was something Mike was not willing to risk, not over Randall.
"Mike you are being unreasonable" Sulley urged his friend who stood staring at the scene with the rest of the scares and assistants. It looked as if they were being herded the way Fungus ran around the group in a tight circle, Mike swore he saw a tear or two fall from his eyes. "No Sulley, You are being unreasonable, you don't know what you would run into!"
"I risked it once with you" Sulley reminded referring back to their short lived time in university, hoping Mike would see Randall in a more innocent light; as his old roommate 'Randy'. "That was entirely different" Mike said, knowing it was actually quite similar "The CDA is here and will fetch Randall for you, it's the safest bet" "He could be gone by the time they are finished putting up the tape!" Sulley argued, raising his arms in annoyance. "Just think about how scared you'd be, how scared you were"
Mike sighed "Listen Sull, Randall has been working with human kids for years, he had been to every safety course the company has put together, and he can turn invisible!" Mike tried to reason, If Randall didn't want someone to see him then they wouldn't, no matter how hard they looked.
"Randall's scales went green today, I think he might be sick" Sulley said a little sad, feeling beaten. Mike was aware of Randall's changing colours due to sickness, he use to change quite a bit when he was anxious or home sick in university. Mike was quiet as he was having an internal battle, Help Sulley get through or let the CDA handle it?
Mike gaped his lips to speak but before he could either express his support in helping Sulley, or decline his request yet again both their attention was taken by an opening door. Sulley pushed Mike aside as he walked up, grateful to see Randy himself walking out.
When Randy had returned he didn't really expect such a commotion, his mind was so scrambled from the panic that he forgot about the pre-cautions in place when a scarer is away for an extended amount of time. He flinched back as he was instantly bombarded by Jerry, , and the CDA. Their aimless shouting and probing as they practically dragged Randall from the door then shut it behind him. Unable to hold back his growing sickness Randall hunched over, desperately pulling away from Jerry who had a firm grip on his arm. His free hands clenched tight over his stomach as he threw up on the floor; noticing the crowd instantly take a few steps back; scare that Randall might had gotten a human virus. The only monster that didn't back away was the blue fluff ball who was now at the front of the crowd, looking relived to see him. It felt nice that at least one set of eyes were not judging him.
Randall's breathing was heavy as his nausea died down, but didn't completely dissipate. He almost didn't have time to wipe his mouth before being dragged off and quarantined by a CDA agent working in a yellow jump suit that he always found looked ridiculous. It was Randall's first time going through the cleansing process he saw George go through many times due to his overly cautious assistant. Randall would not lie that he enjoyed watching George, or any monster, go through a humiliating process; secretly he had wished to see Sulley suffer the same thing but it looked like Randall beat him to it. Luckily Randall had no hair they could shave, but his scales got a good, painful scrubbing, leaving his body feeling very raw as they made a point to disinfect every inch of him.
The CDA then proceeded to put a small white nursing mask over Randall's mouth as another injected him suddenly, Randall flinched and swatted at the mysterious monster with the needle but his injection was already finished "What was that!" He asked furious through the mask, you'd think monsters would need some kind of consent to inject another monster with a mysterious medicine; but this was the CDA, they were immune to consequences.
Apparently Sulley was not happy about the injection either; he approached from behind, putting his big paw on the monster in the yellow suit. "What do you think you are doing?" He asked with a smile, he didn't want to cause alarm, but his grip on the others shoulder was silent intimidation enough. Randall rubbed his arm where his scales had been punctured, looking at Sulley with a frown, not that he was sad. It just felt most natural to him now.
"You are going to have to tell me what that was" Sulley asked harshly. The suited monster turned to him and spoke in his robotic voice "its harmless vaccination to kill off any viruses from the humans" he explained in little detail. Sulley didn't look satisfied "and..it's safe for.." He drifted off a bit, debating whether or not to ask. Randall looked at him almost fearful, hoping Sulley would not be dumb enough. "um, Safe for pregnancy"
Randall could hear the heavy breathing of the Government worker as he was silent. He turned to face Randall, who could only imagine the dumb founded expression he was sporting under the mask. He turned back to Sulley "It's perfectly harmless" He said truthful; Randall could hear the static as his radio turned on and off. "I recommend keeping him off his feet for a while" Randall was offended by the way the agent brushed him aside, like Sulley was his parent or something. Randall didn't think getting rest would be a big issue, not like he had work to do by the way Waternoose was staring at him, eyes filled with anger and questions.
Waternoose noticed Sulley speaking with the agent and took the opportunity to approach Randall "What are you doing drawing attention to yourself like that?" Waternoose said in a low angry whisper as he walked up to Randy. "What happened in there?"
Randall removed the mask from his mouth, surprised he had kept it on this long. "I just.. well.. the kid woke up. I was just waiting it out" He explained
"Did he see you?"
"What does that matter?" he snapped back "He would have to see me in order to be scared anyway" Randy pointed it out, he would have re-thought the outburst and talking back to Waternoose, but he knew after the sudden sickness in work Waternoose would have no choice but to let him go.
"He didn't get near you though?" Waternoose asked, ignoring Randall's sudden annoyance. "So, this sickness is from your condition" Waternoose put his hands behind his back, the pieces falling together for him.
"What? No..I just ate an old sandwich for lunch" Randall lied, a blush of embarrassment across his face.
The thought of food caused Randall to feel queasy again, he rubbed his face as he felt another wave of nausea, he waited for it to pass, surprised when it came more forceful then the last time he had gotten sick. Randy hunched over and without warning threw up yet again. Luckily his boss was quick to step back dodging the spray, but groaned in annoyance anyway. "Fungus, take Randall home. You start working with Cody first thing tomorrow" Randall's fonds went down sadly, but he still kept his bitter expression, not letting the other workers have the satisfaction of seeing him truly sad.
"I'll take him home" Sulley offered squeezing through a couple of CDA members with one hand stretched out.
Before Waternoose could interject, Randall focused his anger on Sulley "You don't have a car" He said rather harshly, folding both sets of arms and scowling with the side of his lip lifted slightly to show his teeth.
"Ohh, I-well" Sulley knew he should have stayed in the background today.
"Want me to vomit all over the bus?" Randall looked ready to give Sulley a scolding, but held back when Sulley's tail and body drooped sadly. Randall rolled his eyes; the big lug looked pathetic, too whimpering to even yell at with good conscience.
Fungus stood beside Waternoose with his keys in hand, looking rather nervous and scared at the whole situation, Randall's harsh tone with Sulley was making him feel as if he should just leave them to sort it out. But Waternoose insisted he would be needed shortly, and he was right. After Randall's small spat he turned from Sulley, gesturing to Fungus that he was ready to go, he was beginning to feel another wave of sickness and hoped he would make it back before it got to strong.
Sulley watched sadly as his co-worker and desk neighbor for ten years left the building, with no intentions of returning to his job again; at least not for a long while. Randall left the scare floor without looking back once, leaving Sullivan alone to wonder how he could just walk away, and without a good bye to anyone. Mike walked over to his friend and patted his back quietly speaking "lets get back to work Sull". Sulley stood in the middle of the scare floor wondering when he would see Randall again, they had not made any plans, but maybe Randall wanted it that way.
Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update! First few weeks of school so I had to get my schedule all worked out. I have a good idea when I will be working on school work and when I have time to write so I do hope my fic will start updating faster (I am aiming for every other weekend at the latest)
If two weeks is too long to wait you can follow my Tumblr account where I upload shipping art, and RP's (I play as Johnny, mostly Johnny/Randall if you enjoy that ship) - You can also send me questions if you like :3 Fic related or not.
Thanks for everyone who leaves comments/reviews. It really helps motivate me to keep updating and I appreciate it every much! ^_^
