Hi!
I`ve been on such a roll lately, and managed to finish this chapter sooner than I thought! :)
Thanks for commenting on the last one! You guys are so nice:)
If you don`t remember, this is the last ordinary chapter *cries* It has Sophie`s funeral in it, in addition to some fluffy stuff.
And just so you know; the story isn`t completely over after this chapter! There will be another update in a few days; I have an epilogue coming, but it`ll be shorter than the other chapters. But I guess it`s better than nothing;)
But that`s enough from me, here`s the last chapter:
Chapter 25: Someone`s Number One
Rex knew something was wrong.
His mother was lying in a strange box on a table, and all the monsters present in the room were crying; although it seemed they were trying to hide it from him. They all turned their heads when he looked at them, and that made him even more insecure.
He walked up to his uncle and took hold of one his hands; Uncle Randall had tears in his eyes too, but he didn`t turn his face away from his little nephew. The much longed for eye-contact made Rex feel a little better, but he was terribly sorry to see his uncle this sad;
"…don`t cwy..!"
He used two of his free hands to pat Randall`s hip, which was the highest point of his uncle`s body he could reach;
"…I`ll take cawe of you..!"
Randall picked the little one up from the floor, hugged him and asked if he wanted to give mum a flower. Rex nodded quietly, and so they walked over to the strange box.
Sophie looked peaceful, as if she was only sleeping. The casket was in a shade of deep mahogany-brown, with cream-coloured silk on the inside, and flowers covered the space around it on the table. Randall handed Rex a single, white rose, which the orange one placed carefully on his mum`s chest;
"Happy biwthday..!"
Randall had to strangle a laugh and a sob at the same time; since Sophie was being presented with so many flowers, Rex believed it was her birthday. It was tragic, but a wonderful, comic relief at the same time; something that was very welcomed in a pointless funeral like this one.
Sulley, also with watery eyes, walked up to the duo and placed his arm around Randall. The touch caused the lizard to freeze - he didn`t want Sullivan to show his affection for him out in public yet. But as he took a minute or two to gaze around the room, he saw that other monsters where holding each other, too. He realized it was a common thing to do at a funeral, and eventually gave in and leaned himself against the soft, blue monster; a gesture that actually made him feel better.
Randall wasn`t able to recall a single second from the ceremony; the whole experience had been floating by in a blur. All he could remember was how Sullivan had held his hand all the way through it, and how calm Rex miraculously had managed to be. The little monster had been sitting perfectly still next to Sullivan the whole time, and hadn`t made a sound; however, that could have had something to do with the fact that Sulley had been feeding him with chocolate to make the ceremony bearable for him.
Rex had remained calm until it was time to lower the casket down into the ground. When that moment came, he started screaming, kicking and crying, and showed no signs of stopping; there was no way anyone was going to throw his mum down a deep hole in the ground like that. His reaction caused the other participants of the funeral to cry even more, so eventually Sulley left Randall with Mike and Fungus in order to escort Rex back to the church so that he wouldn`t have to watch the lowering.
On the way there they walked by Mike`s car, and that cheered Rex up again; they studied it for quite a while, and Sulley found himself being jealous of the little one`s ability to forget the bad thoughts in a flash like that. For his own sake, he would probably have to live with the memories of this day forever.
After the funeral, a little get-together was arranged in one of the meeting-rooms at work. Sandwiches and cake were served, and they cried, talked and cheered to Sophie`s memory. It was horrible and very sad, but nice at the same time; and even Randall smiled when one of the workers from the mail-room told the crowd a funny story featuring Sophie from last year`s Christmas-party.
Later in the afternoon, when everything was over, Sulley went home with Randall and Rex. Rex, rather exhausted, fell asleep almost straight away; he didn`t even make it to his bed, but went out on the couch while Randall was in the kitchen preparing some porridge for him to eat. The lizard ended up giving the food to Sulley - who denied to begin with, but eventually ended up finishing the bowl while Randall carried Rex into the guest bedroom and tucked him in with loving care;
"Get some rest, kid…"
He stroke the single, orange frond, and, after giving it some thought, kissed his nephew on the cheek;
"…you`re so brave, Rex…"
The orange monster curled himself up beneath the warm sheets and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Randall watched him for a little while, before he slowly turned around to head back for the living room.
"I love you, Unca Wandall…"
The sleepy mumble was barely loud enough to hear, but it succeeded in reaching Randall`s ears before he left the room. The purple lizard froze for a second, and when he whispered in return, his voice was just as low as the other monster`s;
"I love you too, Rex… Sleep tight..!"
Sulley and Randall sat side by side on the couch, hardly talking at all. Sulley was eating what was left of Randall`s take-out food, after he`d finished his own a while ago. He didn`t know why he felt hungry, he just did. It had been a long day, a day which had stolen quite a lot of energy, but still…Nothing seemed to fill him up now.
Randall was the opposite; apparently, his appetite had been buried with Sophie earlier in the afternoon, and he had hardly been eating all day. He had managed to force down some noodles with Sullivan, but he probably wouldn`t have made it if the blue monster hadn`t been there to make him eat them.
He stared at the blank television screen while listening to the sounds of Sullivan finishing his meal. His gaze moved to a painting on the wall, before eventually dropping down to the floor;
"Can you stay the night?"
The question caught Sulley off guard; he hadn`t spent the night with Randall since their attempted love-making around a week ago, and to be honest, he had been doubting that the other monster would ever want him in his bed again after an experience like that. He could feel himself blushing just by thinking about it.
"Sullivan..?" Randall asked again;
"Can you stay with me tonight?"
"Sure, I…" the blue monster felt how the noodles grew in his mouth;
"I…if you want me to, I`ll stay..!"
"I just need someone to…sleep next to…"
"I`ll stay, then..!"
"Thanks..!"
Sulley put the nearly empty take-out box down on the table, to free his hand so that he could take hold of one Randall`s instead. He was worried about him; the lizard didn`t look too good.
"Are you okay?"
"No…"
The answer was brutally honest, and sent shivers down Sulley`s spine.
"But it`ll get better…just gimme some time, Sullivan…"
"I`ll give you all the time you`ll need…and if there`s something – anything – I can do to help you, don`t be afraid to ask, okay?"
Randall nodded and let out a silent sigh. He closed his eyes, opened them again and took in a deep breath;
"I think I`m calling in early tonight, Sullivan…"
He got up from the couch, stretched his back, and glanced at the monster who was still sitting;
"Are you coming, too..?"
"Sure…"
Sulley got up as well, and walked with Randall from the living room and into the guest-room to check on Rex, who was sleeping heavily. They watched him wordlessly for a moment, and when Randall was assured that his nephew was still breathing, he left the room with Sullivan and started walking towards his own bedroom.
None of them bothered brushing their teeth; Sulley didn`t have his toothbrush, and Randall didn`t even think about doing it. They simply walked into Randall`s room and collapsed on the bed, completely exhausted.
Randall mumbled a "good night", which was so low he could barely hear it himself, as he lay down on his ordinary side of the bed, and Sulley`s answer wasn`t much louder;
"Night, Randall…"
The blue monster pulled the covers over them both, and Randall cuddled up beneath them, his back facing Sullivan. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. Sulley shut his eyes too, and felt how tired he was; he rested his head on the soft pillow, and remembered the scents from the last time he had been sleeping here. He curled his toes and made himself comfortable and ready to sleep, when Randall`s voice, a little louder this time, suddenly reached his ears;
"…hold me..?"
Sullivan opened his eyes again and gazed at the lizard, who still had his back turned towards him. He rolled over and placed his left arm carefully around the slender figure, allowing his face to touch the long neck.
"Thanks…"
Randall whispered without opening his eyes.
"No problem."
The streets in the city were quiet.
The clock had just turned four.
Rain had started falling again, and the wind threw it against the windows of all the buildings, making it sound like drumming.
Sulley opened his eyes; something had just woken him up. He yawned, and tried to concentrate his mind in order to find out what it could have been; the repetitive sound of the rain was there, but it wasn`t that – the drumming of the rain had never disturbed the heavy sleeper before.
Then he heard the sound again, and he realized it came from Randall; the purple monster was crying quietly, letting out hushed sobs now and then.
"Hey –"
The furry monster stroke the other one`s arm with care;
"You okay?"
"Did I wake you?" Randall didn`t turn around.
"Well…yeah, sort of..!" Sulley admitted with a tired grin; there was no use in denying it.
"I`m sorry…"
"You don`t have to apologise..! Are you feeling alright?"
"What time is it?"
"No idea…"
Randall finally rolled his body over on the other side in order to let Sullivan face him. He looked terrible; his eyes were red and sore, and the bags beneath them revealed that he had been awake for a while;
"I couldn`t sleep… There`s just…too much on my mind…"
Sulley moved a little closer, and took hold of one of the scaly hands;
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No." Randall sighed;
"I mean, not right now – we should try to get some sleep, I don`t wanna keep you up all night…we`ll have…plenty of time to talk later…"
"Fine…whatever you feel like! Sleep tight, then..!"
"You too…"
They both closed their eyes again. However, it didn`t take much time for Randall to start whispering again;
"…what did I tell you, Sullivan..?"
"Huh..?"
"…caring for someone is a huge risk…" he mumbled between quiet sobs;
"…it only leads to moments like this…if I hadn`t reunited with Sophie, I wouldn`t be feeling this way right now…"
"…there are certain things we can`t predict, Randall…" The blue one whispered with his eyes still shut, half-asleep;
"…luckily..! If we knew what lay ahead of us, we would probably worry too much! I honestly think it`s better to take one day at the time, and allow the surprises to come as they please – don`t you agree?"
He opened his eyes and glanced over at the other monster, who still had wet cheeks. As he continued talking, he ran a finger along Randall`s jaw to wipe away some of the tears;
"…and remember, all of the surprises in life aren`t bad, Randall..!" he smiled;
"…just look what happened with us..! Did you see this coming..?"
"…never…"
Sulley`s thoughts wandered back to the day where he had been bombarded with sofa-cushions by a starved, traumatized and very angry lizard;
"…me neither..! When I first found out you were back, and got to experience your behaviour, I was frightened! I never thought this could be a possible outcome!"
Randall chuckled and surprised Sulley with a smile;
"…really..? You didn`t see me as your future boyfrie -"
He shut his mouth. Sulley opened his;
"…what did you say..?"
"Nothing…"
They stared at each other.
"Randall…" Sulley said in a near whisper;
"…do you…see me as your boyfriend..?"
"I -" Randall grimaced out of discomfort;
"I…well; we`ve kissed – a lot - and…I…damn…" He swallowed and wanted to cry again;
"I…I don`t really know when you move from just friends to…relationship, but…I thought…"
"Randall…"
Sulley placed on of his hands beneath the other`s chin and lifted it so that they faced each other again;
"I would love to be your boyfriend..!"
"…you would..?" Randall`s jaw dropped, and for a moment he was afraid he`d throw up – or faint again.
"I definitely would..!"
Sulley pulled a shy smile. He felt relieved; it had been years since his last relationship ended, and he had actually been wondering about the same stuff as Randall – at what point it was normal to say relationship instead of just dating. The step they were about to take was huge;
"That is, of course, if you want me to..?"
"Damn it Sullivan!" Randall hissed;
"…if this is gonna work, you`ll have to stop treating me like a nervous wreck who doesn`t know his own good..!"
"…well, then you`ll have to cheer up now and then..!"
"…and you`ll have to…to…" Randall thought about for a little while;
"…to…oh, screw it; just promise me you`ll always remain the annoying, shedding, goofy idiot who`s you, okay..?"
"…only if you continue to be you..!"
"You just told me to cheer the fuck up!"
"You can still be you. Just try to smile more often, Randall; it suits you..!"
Randall tried his best, but couldn`t keep his lips from curling upwards. In a pathetic attempt to hide it, he leaned closer and kissed his boyfriend`s soft lips; and his heart started pounding when Sullivan kissed him back.
It was gentle and mild to begin with, but as it developed they both got more aggressive and eager.
Tongues met.
Hands wandered.
Heartbeats went up.
And this time, there was no fumbling around. No embarrassment. No insecurity.
The only things present now were determination, pleasure and passion.
And love.
*cries more*
It`s almost over!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and viewed it as a decent ending! Please review:)
The epilogue is almost ready, but it still needs some polishing; I think it`ll be ready sometime during the weekend:)
Take care, I`ll see you then!