Double (Trouble) Dating {3/6}afterandalasiaAugust 7 2013, 22:45:28 UTC
"Nice to see you two, Celia," replied Randall. Sulley could see him wringing two of his hands under the table, and the way that he and Mike were eyeing each other as if neither was sure that a fight was going to break out.
There was another terse moment of silence, then the waitress who had shown them to their table stepped briskly over and started handing out the menus. "Here you go, sirs, ma'am. Would you like to order any drinks?"
Celia was the first one to manage a reply. "I'll get the strangler fruit juice, please."
"Just water, thanks," said Sulley.
"Water sounds good." Mike seemed to be speaking out of the corner of his mouth, his eye still absolutely fixed on Randall.
Randall still pretended to be peering at the menu, but Sulley could see the almost-frantic flickering of his eyes. He reached over and squeezed one of Randall's knees gently.
"Mint tea, please?" It was just slightly questioning, but the waitress kept on smiling.
"Coming right up!"
She bustled away again, one of her arms swaying in time with the gentle new-age music coming through the speakers. Finally, Mike looked round to Sulley, narrowed his gaze slightly, and spoke in a tone that broached absolutely no argument. "Sulley, can we have a word please?"
"Whoops, looks like he's in scare-coach mode," Sulley joked, though he rather felt as if he was going to be sick. "You two going to be okay waiting for us?" Celia nodded, her smile a little brittle, but Randall gave him a look that was outright fearful before controlling himself again and nodding as well. "Great. See you in a few."
He resisted the urge to pick up Mike and haul him to the bathroom. But only just.
Arguing in the toilets was, sadly, not a new low to them.
"Randall. Randall! Are you out of your tiny furry mind?!"
"Mike, you agreed not to freak out..."
"Freaking out? Oh, this is not freaking out, Sulley. This is way beyond freaking out. This is ridiculous!"
Sulley winced, both at the way that Mike's voice was echoing in the tiled bathroom and at the sheer fury in his friend's gestures. "I told you that it was complicated. It's been three years, Mike, and a lot has chan-"
"Yes, three years since he tried to kill us. I don't know about you, but personally, I don't think that's really long enough."
Mercifully, no-one else was there to hear this, Sulley thought. The last thing that he needed was for tomorrow's headline to be about the Monsters Inc. CEO arguing in a vegetarian restaurant. "Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but you asked for this date and now you're going to have to put up with it."
"With Randall?" Mike made a cutting motion with his hand. "No way. I'm calling it off." He turned to leave, still shaking slightly in disbelief.
"He's changed," said Sulley. He hadn't meant for it to come out pleading, but once he said it he realised that it kind of had. "Three years can be a very long time, Mike. There was getting him back from the human world, then the trial..."
"Yes, the trial!" Mike whirled around. "The trial in which we gave evidence, Sulley. Or had that part slipped your mind?"
"It's a little hard to forget," he replied. Realising that their voices were rising, he deliberately spoke with as much calmness as he could muster. "Or perhaps it's slipped your mind that you didn't stick around to see what the sentences were going to be."
"Guilty was good enough for me."
Sulley rolled his eyes. "Waternoose got jail. But seeing as it would be difficult to find a jail that could hold Randall, the judge commuted his sentence to community service."
"And you thought this was somehow a green light to date the guy?"
"I stepped forward to suggest that the service be done at the factory, redeveloping the Scream Cans to Laughter Cans. That machine of his could hold more power than any of the Scream Cans that had been developed, and with how strong Laughter is we needed that sort of containment."
Mike rubbed his brow. "Sulley, really, dating you is not actually a community service. Trying to get you a date should have been, but dating you is not. There is no reason-"
"He's not the guy he used to be," said Sulley earnestly. "I mean it. Give him a chance."
There was another terse moment of silence, then the waitress who had shown them to their table stepped briskly over and started handing out the menus. "Here you go, sirs, ma'am. Would you like to order any drinks?"
Celia was the first one to manage a reply. "I'll get the strangler fruit juice, please."
"Just water, thanks," said Sulley.
"Water sounds good." Mike seemed to be speaking out of the corner of his mouth, his eye still absolutely fixed on Randall.
Randall still pretended to be peering at the menu, but Sulley could see the almost-frantic flickering of his eyes. He reached over and squeezed one of Randall's knees gently.
"Mint tea, please?" It was just slightly questioning, but the waitress kept on smiling.
"Coming right up!"
She bustled away again, one of her arms swaying in time with the gentle new-age music coming through the speakers. Finally, Mike looked round to Sulley, narrowed his gaze slightly, and spoke in a tone that broached absolutely no argument. "Sulley, can we have a word please?"
"Whoops, looks like he's in scare-coach mode," Sulley joked, though he rather felt as if he was going to be sick. "You two going to be okay waiting for us?" Celia nodded, her smile a little brittle, but Randall gave him a look that was outright fearful before controlling himself again and nodding as well. "Great. See you in a few."
He resisted the urge to pick up Mike and haul him to the bathroom. But only just.
Arguing in the toilets was, sadly, not a new low to them.
"Randall. Randall! Are you out of your tiny furry mind?!"
"Mike, you agreed not to freak out..."
"Freaking out? Oh, this is not freaking out, Sulley. This is way beyond freaking out. This is ridiculous!"
Sulley winced, both at the way that Mike's voice was echoing in the tiled bathroom and at the sheer fury in his friend's gestures. "I told you that it was complicated. It's been three years, Mike, and a lot has chan-"
"Yes, three years since he tried to kill us. I don't know about you, but personally, I don't think that's really long enough."
Mercifully, no-one else was there to hear this, Sulley thought. The last thing that he needed was for tomorrow's headline to be about the Monsters Inc. CEO arguing in a vegetarian restaurant. "Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but you asked for this date and now you're going to have to put up with it."
"With Randall?" Mike made a cutting motion with his hand. "No way. I'm calling it off." He turned to leave, still shaking slightly in disbelief.
"He's changed," said Sulley. He hadn't meant for it to come out pleading, but once he said it he realised that it kind of had. "Three years can be a very long time, Mike. There was getting him back from the human world, then the trial..."
"Yes, the trial!" Mike whirled around. "The trial in which we gave evidence, Sulley. Or had that part slipped your mind?"
"It's a little hard to forget," he replied. Realising that their voices were rising, he deliberately spoke with as much calmness as he could muster. "Or perhaps it's slipped your mind that you didn't stick around to see what the sentences were going to be."
"Guilty was good enough for me."
Sulley rolled his eyes. "Waternoose got jail. But seeing as it would be difficult to find a jail that could hold Randall, the judge commuted his sentence to community service."
"And you thought this was somehow a green light to date the guy?"
"I stepped forward to suggest that the service be done at the factory, redeveloping the Scream Cans to Laughter Cans. That machine of his could hold more power than any of the Scream Cans that had been developed, and with how strong Laughter is we needed that sort of containment."
Mike rubbed his brow. "Sulley, really, dating you is not actually a community service. Trying to get you a date should have been, but dating you is not. There is no reason-"
"He's not the guy he used to be," said Sulley earnestly. "I mean it. Give him a chance."
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