Monsters Inc. 1. Chapter 1

I can t believe I m doing this, I shouldn t be doing this, I swore I wasn't going to start any new fanfictions until I got some of the ones I ve already started finished, but then I took my cousin to see Monster s University and the little fluff ball of an idea that I ve had for years, it wasn t even a real plot bunny, it was just this vague desire to pair Sully up with a human, now all of a sudden a week after seeing the movie I ve got a 16 page, about 2 and half chapter long story written and that little fluff ball has turned into a monster rabid plot bunny with it s teeth firmly planted in my brain. I didn t even struggle to come up with names which I can usually spend a week trying to decide on, they just came to me. And I just realized I didn t have a title yet, another thing that it can take me a week or longer to come up with, under a minute and I came up with it, this story just refuses to stop coming to me.

I can t make any guarantees about how often it ll be updated, if everything works out I ll be moving to where I ll be going to college next week, won t have internet and it will be at least a couple mile walk to get to anywhere that does have internet, bad for posting stuff, but if I m not out hiking all the time I ll have more time to write until school starts in August. So give me lots of reviews if you want to see it updated more often after next weekend, previous experience with limited internet has proven that the stories I've most recently received reviews for are the ones I go home and work on the most.

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Mary honey, you need to go to sleep now, Abby said trying to get her sister to settle down.

I want kitty, Mary said pointing at her closet door and starting to climb out of bed.

Don t you dare get out of that bed, I ll look for the kitty, Abby said blocking Mary from getting out of bed before she walked over and opened the closet door, See there s no kitty in your closet, she told her.

Okay, Mary replied sadly before finally laying down, tears brimming her eyes.

Maybe we can get a kitten when you re a little older, how would you like that? Abby asked.

No, Mary replied firmly, I want kitty come back, she said pointing to a drawing of a blue and purple creature that she had hung next to her bed.

Okay, then we ll wait and see if that kitty comes back, Abby told her before kissing her and pulling the blankets up over her.

Mary grabbed her hand, Stay with me? she begged.

I have some things I need to do, but I ll sleep in here tonight as soon as I m done, just like last night, okay? Abby said.

Okay, goodnight sissy, Mary said.

Goodnight, Abby told her before stepping out of the room and shutting the door.

She leaned against the wall for a moment relived to have finally gotten Mary to bed, but at the same time worried about how persistently she had been asking for the imaginary cat she had dreamt up almost a year earlier. At first Mary had to check her closet multiple times before she could be convinced to go to bed and she always insisted there was a kitty hiding in there. After a while she had given up looking, at least until their parents had been killed in a car crash then she had begun to persistently search for the kitty again and became sadder and sadder each time she couldn t find it.

Abby headed into the living room and was just about to sit down to attempt to relax a little when there was a knock at the door. When she answered it she was greeted by a short balding man in his mid thirties and she instantly regretted answering the door.

I was just wondering if you had made a decision regarding the offer I made you? Mr. Harrison said.

I m planning on staying here, Abby replied.

But you really don t need such a big house for just you and your sister, it ll just be more work for you to keep up with the house work, not to mention that yard. Don t you think you d be better off in an apartment where you would have someone to take care of the yard and repairs? Mr. Harrison asked.

No, I think I m better off here, in my home. My dad has the house fully paid off, so I don t have to worry about paying rent and I m sure I can handle the house and yard work just fine, Abby told him trying to stay patient.

But just think of how much the money from selling this place would help you out, especially with college expenses and raising your sister.

I m sure we ll get along just as well staying here, Abby replied.

But-

No, Abby said angrily cutting him off, I m not selling the house, and even if I was desperate for money I d never sell it to you, just so you can tear it down and put in a repair garage. How dare you even ask, was it even twenty four hours after my parents died when you first asked? And now you show up asking again on the day of their funeral and after nine thirty when you know my little sister should be asleep and you could have woken her knocking at the door? I want you off my property now and don t come back or the next time the only warning you ll get to leave is the cocking of my father s hunting rifle, Abby told him before shutting the door, barely restraining herself from slamming it.

She stormed back into the living room and paced back and forth for a while, so tense and stressed over her limit that she just wanted to scream, that always seemed to help relieve a decent amount of tension when she was stressed, but that would wake Mary. At the moment she was so stressed that that wouldn t have stopped her, but she knew Mary would want to know what was wrong and she had to be strong, had to act like she was alright to keep Mary from getting any more upset. She knew Mary was as devastated as she was by their parent s death, but as long as Abby held it together Mary seemed to be easily distracted during the day. A couple of times at night Abby had heard her crying and would go into her room and rock her to sleep, then started just staying with her at night and now she seemed to be handling it okay. Abby on the other hand didn t have anyone to turn to, her only close friend from college was over two hours away for summer break, they talked on the phone, but it just wasn t as comforting as having someone there. After the last several days of stress and heartbreak it seemed to have finally become too much for her to bear and Abby curled up onto the couch and cried.

About half an hour later Abby headed towards Mary s room, when she didn t hear any noise she wondering if she might be able to get away with sleeping in her own bed tonight. She was still so tense she knew she d never actually sleep, just to see and turn most of the night. For a second she thought about heading to the basement and looking for a nice big spider, she could crush it on the floor, get a good stress relieving scream and just tell Mary it had dropped onto her, then maybe she could sleep. Unfortunately she realized from the burning of her eyes it was probably obvious that she had been crying and Mary would surly notice that.

She was just about to head to her room when she heard Mary say kitty she was going to just keep going and hope that Mary was dreaming until Mary let out an excited squeal and yelled kitty . Abby immediately darted to Mary s door and threw it open, half expecting to see some mangy ally cat that Mary had snuck into the house, it wouldn t have been the first time.

When she stepped through the door she froze for a moment, standing at the foot end of Mary s bed, holding Mary was a huge seven and half foot tall monster. She was dreaming, she had cried herself to sleep on the couch and was clearly dreaming. She had never been the type of person to scream when she was frightened, but even if it was a dream she still could feel all that tension and decided a nightmare was a good enough excuse and let loose all that stress and tension in a deafening scream.

The monster quickly set Mary down on her bed then ran towards Abby, Stop you ll- he stopped, clamping his hand over Abby s mouth just as a light seemed to flicker from inside the closet before going out, blow the door, he finished.

Abby grabbed at his hand and tried to push it away, but he was far too strong, so she settled for glaring at him.

Promise you won t scream again and I ll let you go, okay? he asked.

Abby nodded her head and he slowly released her. As soon as she was free Abby grabbed Mary and started to back towards the bedroom door while the monster walked to the closet door, opened it and groaned. As soon as he had opened the closet Mary started to struggle to get away from Abby. Finally unable to keep a hold of her Abby set Mary down and tried to grab her hand, but Mary slipped away and ran to the monster.

Mary grabbed his leg and clung to him, Kitty don t leave, she cried desperately.

It s okay Boo, I m not leaving you, the monster said as he picked her up.

Abby flipped on the bedroom light and couldn t believe what she was seeing, with the light on she could make out the colors of the monsters fur and realized it was the same creature that Mary had been drawing.

What s going on here? Abby finally asked still not entirely sure whether she was awake or dreaming.

Kitty came back, Mary said smiling happily at Abby before snuggling into the monster s fur.

Um- well it s kind of a long story- he started until he looked up from Mary, looked at Abby and a look of concern crossed his face, Are you okay? he asked.

Sure, why wouldn t I be fine, there s a giant monster standing in my sisters room holding her, why wouldn t I be okay? Abby replied sarcastically, although she faltered a little towards the end, he looked so genuinely concerned and she had given herself such a headache screaming that she just couldn t seem to hold on to any anger, she just wanted it to be over so she could go to bed.

That s not what I meant, you look like you ve been crying, he said.

Before Abby could reply tears filled Mary s eyes, She s sad mommy and daddy went away and not coming back, they put them in the ground today, she said before burring her face in his fur.

I m so sorry. The last thing you needed right now was a monster showing up, he said.

Abby looked at him for a minute, Mary curled up in his arms dozing off, one hand holding tightly to his fur, she still had tears running down her face, but otherwise she looked more content than she had since their parents had died, No, I don t how you know my sister or what s going on here or if this is even real, but you couldn t have come at a better time, she needed you, she finally said, then added, And I was hoping for a good excuse to just scream and let off some of the tension of the day.

You have good lungs, that s for sure. I don t think I ve ever head anyone scream quite that loud and I ve heard a lot of screams, he said then told her, I m James Sullivan, but every just calls me Sully.

Abby Gibbs. Now you re welcome to come back, I really want to know what s going on here, but I m too tired to deal with it tonight, so if you d just give me my sister and go back to where ever you came from I d appreciate it, she told him.

All of a sudden, Mary who had appeared to have fallen asleep was wide awake and screamed no while twisting both of her fists tightly enough in Sully s fur to make him flinch, Kitty not leave, mommy and daddy left, said they d come back, they didn t, kitty stay, she cried, fresh tears streaming down her face.

It s okay, it s okay Boo, I m not going anywhere, I ll stay with you, Sully assured her as he gingerly tried to loosen her hands from his fur.

You can t stay here all night, Abby told him.

I don t have a choice, you broke the door when you screamed, Sully told her, sitting down and leaning back against the wall while still trying to get Mary calmed down.

What exactly does that mean? The door looks fine, Abby asked.

The door on my side was damaged, it s complicated, but basically the door works as a portal between our two worlds, its powered by laughter or screams. An adult s scream is too powerful though, but hopefully it just blew a fuse or something and will be fixed before too long. Until it s fixed I m stuck here, he told her, Even if I wasn t I wouldn t be leaving yet, he said gently rubbing Mary s back and trying to calm her down.

Alright, Abby relented.

Abby was about to sit down on the bed when Mary reached out one hand for her, Sissy stay with me too, she said.

Abby reluctantly sat down next to Sully and took Mary s hand in hers, Mary suddenly smiled, Kitty gone long time and come back, maybe mommy and daddy just gone long time and come back?

Abby s heart broke as she said, No honey, they re not coming back, not so we can see them, but I ll bet they re still watching out for us and can still hear us if we talk to them.

I want to hug mommy, want to see her. Never see her again? Mary asked.

Someday, but not for a really, really long time, when we re old, Abby told her.

Mary just sighed sadly, more tears falling from her eyes as she laid her head against Sully s chest and finally started to doze off again, her hand still firmly holding onto Abby s.

Abby quickly swiped at her eyes with her free hand, desperately trying to control her own tears. Suddenly a large arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer to Sully.

You re allowed to cry too, he told her.

I have to be strong for Mary, it ll just upset her more if she sees me crying, Abby replied already losing her battle against her tears.

She s asleep, he replied, gently tightening his arm around her shoulders.

Abby finally gave in and let herself cry quietly, laying her head against his chest and was asleep within minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

When Abby woke up she was in Mary's bed, but there was no sign of Mary. For a second she thought the monster had been a dream, until she herd him and Mary start laughing downstairs.

"Okay, so my life officially can't get any stranger," she said as she got out of bed.

When she got downstairs she found Sully crawling around the dining room table, looking under the chairs and Mary laying across the seats of two of the chairs, grinning as she watched him.

"Are you two having fun?" Abby asked then flinched as Sully's head shot up and hit the bottom of the table right next to the chair Mary was hiding on.

Sully only hesitated a second then smiled and said, "There you are," as he reached for Mary she slipped off the chairs and under the table over to where Abby was.

"We're having lots of fun," Mary said as Abby scooped her up.

"Good, have you had any breakfast yet?" Abby asked her as she walked into the kitchen then stopped when she spotted the empty sink and clean counters.

"Yep, Kitty got me breakfast and did the dishes and I told him where to put them," Mary replied.

Abby turned back to Sully and said, "You know how I told you, you needed to leave last night?"

"Yes," Sully replied.

"Forget it, if you do dishes you can stay as long as you like. Thank you," Abby told him.

"It was nothing, you have enough to worry about, including me being stuck here, it was the least I could do," he replied.

"So explain to me again how it is you got here, why you can't get home and how you know my sister," Abby said as she got her breakfast.

When he finished Abby just shook her head, "I can't believe this, when she disappeared that day we all freaked out, but when she showed up again and insisted she had been in her closet we thought she had just been hiding in there and we had somehow missed her. I'm glad you were so determined to get her home, I don't know how I would have gotten through this past week without her. She's all I have really, neither of my parents had any family in the state and I never really got to meet Diane's family other than a few times."

"Who's Diane?" Sully asked.

"Mary's mom and my step mom, my parents got married right out of high school and I was born on their first anniversary. Mom got cancer when I was ten and died less than a year later. Dad married Diane about four years ago, even though I was almost an adult at the time she still became like a mom to me and one of my best friends. I still can't believe they're gone," Abby said as she got up and set her dishes in the sink, keeping her back to Sully as she tried to fight back tears.

"You'll make it through this," Sully said resting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Stop it," Abby said shoving his hand away as she lost her battle against her tears, then turned and hugged him tightly, her tears flowing more freely as he wrapped his arms around her "My dad used to do that, if I was upset he'd try to comfort me, but any physical contact and I just totally break down. A few times when it wasn't something terribly serious that I was upset about he'd hug me just to make me cry. I hate how easily I cry,"

"There's nothing wrong with crying, especially after what you've been through. Don't ever tell anyone this, but I took a week off of work and didn't leave my apartment the whole time when my grandfather died. We were close and I totally lost it, spent more time crying that week than I probably had in the entire rest of my life. It's better to cry now than let that misery build up until you blow up," Sully told her.

"I guess you're right," Abby agreed then smiled, "I can't believe you ever could have scared anyone, sure you're big, but you're like a giant teddy bear."

"No problem telling you and Boo are sisters, anyone else would think I was scary and you two think I'm a big softy," Sully said.

"It seems like that's exactly what you are," Abby replied.

"Yeah, well, just don't tell anyone, I've got a reputation as being one the best scares before we switched to laugh power and I'd like to keep it that way," Sully told her.

"Alright, I promise I won't," Abby replied.

"I want a hug too," Mary said as she walked into the kitchen then climbed up onto a chair next to Sully and reached out to him.

Sully released Abby then turned to Mary, "You need a hug, are you sure?" he asked, when she nodded he swept her up into his arms and hugged her.

A little while later Mary had dragged Sully off to her room to show him all her toys and drawings, giving Abby a chance to finally sit down and just relax with a book she had been wanting to read. A couple hours later Abby noticed that it had gotten very quite and she decided to check on Mary. When she got to Mary's room she had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

Sully was sitting on the floor with Mary standing on a chair behind him so she could reach his head. The fur on top of his head had been separated into little tufts that were held with a couple dozen little bow and flower shaped barrettes and several different colors of hair ribbons had been wrapped around his horns.

Abby silently left the room before being noticed and came back a minute later with her camera, "Are you two having fun?" she asked then snapped a picture as they both looked up at her.

"Oh no, please don't take pictures of me like this," Sully practically begged.

"Why not, didn't I do a good job of making you look pretty?" Mary asked her bottom lip starting to tremble a little.

Sully hesitated only a second before he said, "You're doing a great job, I just don't want her taking pictures until you're finished."

"Okay," Mary said happily then looked to Abby, "Go away, you can take pictures when I'm done making him look pretty," she said before picking up a butterfly barrette and going back to work.

"Alright, just let me know when I can come back and take more pictures," Abby told her while trying not to laugh at the horrified look on Sully's face as he mouthed the word 'no'. Abby just smiled at him sympathetically and left to finish her book.

A little while later Mary came out and told Abby she was done and that she could come take pictures. When Abby walked into the room she had to bite her lip to keep herself from bursting out laughing. In addition to the ribbons and barrettes that were now spread clear down the sides and back of Sully's head to his shoulders, there was also a little plastic tiara placed on his head with several ribbons attached to it that trailed down around his head. The claws on his hands had been painted with glittery blue nail polish and the claws on his toes had been done in a bright, florescent pink. To top it all off the fur on his head between the barrettes and down his arms and back was slicked down as if something had been poured over his head and from the over powering sent of lilacs Abby was sure it was perfume.

Finally feeling confident that she could speak without laughing Abby said, "You look so pretty and adorable," then she turned her attention to Mary who was standing behind Sully, back up on her chair so she was able to see over his head, "You know you're not supposed to use your nail polish without an adult around though, and you're not supposed to use mom's perfume," she told her as she snapped a few pictures, ignoring the pleading look Sully was giving her.

"Kitty is an adult," Mary replied.

Abby hesitated, part of her brain was still having a hard time wrapping around the fact that Sully was a person and not just some strange pet that had followed Mary home. The fact that she had assumed that the pictures Mary had been drawing for the last year were some type of oddly colored cat didn't help.

"Okay and what about the perfume? You're not allowed to touch that at all," Abby pointed out.

"I had to, he was stinky and now he smells good," Mary replied matter-of-factly.

"Mary! You shouldn't say things like that," Abby scolded her.

"But it's true and mommy said always tell the truth," Mary replied.

"I know, but sometimes you just shouldn't say anything," Abby told her.

"Wait, you're agreeing with her? You think I stink?" Sully asked.

"Well, not horribly, but you did kind of smell like a wet dog," Abby admitted.

"And you think that stinks?" Sully asked looking a little confused.

"Of course," Marry replied while Abby just nodded.

"Okay, so monsters and humans have different ideas of what smells good," Sully said.

"You like how you smell now, right?" Mary asked.

"It's a little strong, but not bad," Sully replied.

"Good, did I do a good job of making you look pretty," Mary asked, picking up a mirror off of her vanity and leaning over Sully's shoulder to put it in his hand.

As soon as he looked in the mirror he looked quite horrified and a little embarrassed, but as Mary jumped off of her chair and came to stand in front of him, he forced a smile and said, "Yes, I look very pretty."

"You're still in trouble for using the perfume," Abby said.

"I had to," Mary said looking up at her with large sad eyes.

"You should have asked first, now we're going to have to undo all your hard work," Abby told her.

"Why?" Mary asked.

"Because you used too much and now we're going to have to take everything out of his hair so he can wash the perfume out or it will get sticky," Abby explained.

"Really?" Mary asked.

"Yep, why don't you go get some shampoo and take it into the bathroom in mom and dad's room so he can wash it out and I'll start getting the barrettes out of his hair," Abby suggested.

"Okay," Mary replied solemnly before leaving the room.

As soon as she was gone Abby said, "I can't believe you let her do this to you."

"I tried to talk her out of it, but then she said that her mom let her do it to her and that you always refuse to let her do your hair and her eyes were just so huge and sad, how can you say no to those eyes?" he asked.

"It's not easy, but you learn eventually, especially after having your hair twisted into so many knots that it takes hours to get them out," Abby replied, then asked, "So shall we get this mess out of your fur?"

"Yes, please, and thank you for the excuse to not leave it like this any longer," he told her.

"You're welcome," Abby said as she started to remove the tiara and barrettes.

A little while later Abby showed him to the large master bathroom with a huge hot tub like bathtub that would be plenty big enough for Sully.

The rest of the day they spent playing games and then settled down to watch a movie. Mary was curled up on Sully's chest and Abby was sitting next to him until she started to doze off and her head landed on his arm.

"Sorry, just a little tired," Abby said as she jerked back awake.

"It's alright, we can always finish watching this tomorrow," he suggested.

"No, it's almost over, I can stay awake that long," Abby replied.

Within minutes she was dozing off again and Sully moved a little closer to her and wrapped an arm around her as her head started to tilt towards him again and finally leaned against his chest.

"You're even more cuddly when you don't smell like a wet dog," Abby said drowsily, her fingers running through his soft fur before she finally fell completely asleep.

"I can't believe this, what are you some type of human magnet? It's like they just attach themselves to you and an adult one too?"

Abby slowly opened her eyes, then gasped and sat up pushing herself back into the couch and Sully's arm when she spotted the large green eyeball staring at her.

Before she could do anything else Sully's hand was clamped over her mouth, "Don't scream, if you break the door again there's no one left on the other side who knows we're here," he told her.

Abby nodded and he let her go, "I wasn't going to scream, I told you, that was more because of stress, not fear," she reminded him.

"Better safe than stuck here permanently," he replied then said, "Abby, this is my best friend-"

He was cut of as Mary woke up and squealed, "Mike Wazowski!" as she jumped off of Sully and hugged him.

"It's good to see you too kid," Mike said then he looked at Abby, "So you're the one who is responsible for blowing the fuse in the door?"

Abby shrugged sheepishly, "I'd had a very long, very stressful day and I kind of have a habit of screaming when I'm stressed over my limit," she told him.

"Well you sure got me in trouble, my fiancé almost called off our wedding because of me sneaking around and not helping with the finale preparations," Mike told her.

"I'm really sorry," Abby said.

"Don't worry about it," Mike said.

"She didn't actually call off the wedding did she?" Sully asked.

"No, but I kind of had to tell her that the reason I was disappearing was because my best man got stuck in the human world. It's not so bad, now she thinks I'm sweet and wonderful for putting the door together for you and told me not to worry about any of the wedding preparations until I get you home. Since you don't seem to be hiding from any of the humans here we could always hang out here for a few hours," Mike suggested.

"Isn't your wedding in less than twenty four hours?" Sully asked.

"Exactly and all the last minute details are driving me crazy," Mike replied.

"That's just because I haven't been there to keep you from panicking, everything will be fine now that I'm coming back," Sully told him.

"Kitty leaving?" Mary asked, her eyes growing huge and filling with tears.

"Yes, but I'll come back soon," he replied.

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

"Probably not, but the next day, I promise," he told her.

"I'm going to have to put up with you popping out of that closet on a regular basis aren't I?" Abby asked trying to sound annoyed about it.

"Yep," Sully replied then smiled, "I could always do the dishes for you to make up for you having to put up with me being around."

Abby smiled, "Well in that case come as often as you want," she told him.

A little while later after finally convincing Mary to let go of Sully the two monsters left and Abby proceeded to try to get Mary to go to bed.


End file.
