Title: 'Til Death

Summary: '…'till death do you part?' That last part hardly registered with him. These were just the customary vows that were read at every wedding ceremony. They had a long way to go before death would ever become a cause for concern. Their lives were only just beginning. Why worry about the end?

Pairing: Sulley/Randall

Rating: T (for violence)

Warnings: Character death.

Disclaimer: The film, "Monsters Inc." belongs to Disney and Pixar Animation. I make no profit from these writings.

Author's Note: This story was inspired by a very sad prompt on tumblr (write a story about your OTP where Person A dreams about their wedding day with Person B, only to wake up and realize they died years ago) , which has already been tackled by Badgerwolf and Autumnnprincess. They ripped my heart out, so now I must return the favor.

This is actually an idea I've had in mind for some time now. I just never really knew how to go about writing it. I really went into more detail than was necessary, I think, but usually I just can't help myself. I always feel compelled to keep going and going.

There had been so much planning that went into making this day perfect. It had to be perfect. It was the most important day of their lives after all, but like with most highly anticipated events, things never went as smoothly as one could have hoped. At the very least, they would have liked for the weather to be beautiful and sunny on their wedding day, but from the moment they stumbled out of bed, to the moment they arrived at the church, it had poured, never tapering off just long enough for them to even get out of the car and get inside without getting drenched. To say that Randall was a bit peeved would have been an understatement, given the perfectionist he was. It took quite a bit of consoling from his mother to finally get him to take a deep breath and relax. A wedding was stressful enough as it was without adding bad weather into the mix.

There had been much debate on how they were going to make their entrance. Sulley had jokingly stated that since he had been the one to propose, that technically made Randall the 'bride', and so it only made sense that he be the one to walk down the aisle while Sulley waited for him at the alter. Not surprisingly, Randall hadn't been too fond of the idea and had even threatened to divorce him, despite not even being married yet. The two ultimately decided on walking down the aisle together, which eased the reptilian monster's tensions, as he didn't think he could have walked down that aisle by himself with everyone's attention focused squarely on him. He would have disappeared after the first two steps.

They had thought about just having everyone sit wherever they wanted, rather than separate the families, as was traditional, but considering both Sulley and Randall's mothers weren't too fond of each other, they had quickly decided against that, not wanting to take a chance on those two getting too close. They had both been the source of quite a bit of drama, whether it be directed at each other, or at their own children:

"I don't know what you see in him, Jimmy. He's cold, bitter, and completely self-centered! And have you forgotten he tried to KILL YOU?!"

"Why would you want anything to do with him, Randy? He's arrogant, a cheater and a complete kiss up! And have you forgotten he nearly KILLED YOU?!"

They supposed bickering family members came with the territory, aggravating as it was. The worst instance they could remember was during a party they had held in celebration of their engagement. It hadn't been too long before the two women found themselves in a heated argument with each other, both of them claiming the other's son wasn't good enough for their own. How it had even started, they didn't know. After many failed attempts at trying to ease their tensions, Randall and Sulley ultimately ended up leaving together to down a few shots of liquor. "They'll learn to love each other," Sulley had remarked with confidence. "We certainly did."

Of course family drama hardly mattered on this day. There would always be drama, whether between family members, or even amongst each other. But it wasn't worth worrying about right now.

"Randall, honey, you're cutting off the circulation in my arm."

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

"Look, will you relax?" Sulley said gently as he patted the hand gripping his arm. "I'm right here with you. It's not like you're on your way to the guillotine."

"Feels like it."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, I didn't mean it like-"

"I know," Sulley interrupted him with a warm smile. "Deep breath."

Randall nodded, inhaling. As they slowly made their way down the aisle, Randall kept his attention focused to the front, though he still felt like his heart was going to leap into his throat. Even as they finally made it to the alter and turned to face each other, Randall was still breathing in an out slowly. Sulley clutched both his hands tightly, rubbing them with his thumbs. Though the priest had already started speaking, Randall didn't hear a word of it. Gazing up into his fiancé's eyes, his thoughts shifted, and he found himself reliving the years leading up to this moment, from the day he had returned from the human world, to the moment Sulley had proposed to him. It had taken them three long years to get to this point in their relationship and it hadn't been the smoothest of transitions. It had taken Randall a full year just to apologize and admit his mistakes, and it had been the biggest emotional release of his life. Apologizing for anything was not in Randall's nature, and Sulley had known this. For him to do so sincerely….well, it was a rarity easily akin to some kind of celestial event that only occurred once every thousand years.

Randall could remember trying to be so calm and composed as he spoke to Sulley, explaining exactly why he had done what he did, even if he acknowledged there was no real justification. It was when he recalled that moment in the door vault that he had stopped speaking, staring wide-eyed at the floor. He had honestly tried to kill a monster, and had even taken pleasure in it. And for what? Because he was jealous? It was only then that he truly realized the severity of what he had done, and he immediately broke down, all his defenses crumbling around him. Apology after apology had poured from his lips as he sobbed loudly, too ashamed to even face the monster standing before him. He could never forget that feeling of soft, strong arms forcing him to turn around and pulling him against his chest. He remembered trying to pull away, not because he didn't want Sulley's comfort, but because he felt he didn't deserve it. But Sulley had refused to let him go. Their relationship only strengthened from that point forward, though neither one of them ever imagined they'd make it to this stage. They were very similar, yes, but they were very different as well. Of course they supposed that's what made it interesting.

They both had their rings in hand now. This was it.

Positioning the ring, Sulley carefully slid it onto Randall's finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"James, do you take this monster to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in heath, 'til death do you part?"

"I do," Sulley answered without hesitation.

At the priest's instruction, Randall presented his ring, tearfully uttering the words, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"And do you, Randall, take this monster to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

…'til death do you part?' That last part hardly registered with him. These were just the customary vows that were read at every wedding ceremony. They had a long way to go before death would ever become a cause for concern. Their lives were only just beginning. Why worry about the end?

"I do."

Randall was feeling light-headed at this point, though the smile never left his face. He took a step closer as he felt Sulley's hands rest against his back. He leaned in to meet him halfway, closing his eyes as he prepared to kiss him like he never had before, even if there was a crowd of people watching. Just as he felt his lips begin to brush against Sulley's, he heard the other monster grunt slightly. Opening his eyes, he saw his partner lifting a hand to clutch at his chest.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Randall asked as he immediately reached out to him.

"I…I don't…" Sulley slowly withdrew his hand, revealing what looked to be a small red stain on the white shirt of his suit.

"What's…?" Randall's eyes widened in horror as he noticed the size of the stain begin to grow, spreading until the entire shirt was soaked. It was blood. "James!" he screamed as his husband stumbled forward, falling into the smaller monster's arms. "Help! Someone, help! He's…" Looking up, Randall was stunned to see that the church was completely empty. Just moments ago, dozens of guests had sat in those pews, and now they had vanished without a trace. Panicked, Randall looked back down at his husband, only to see that he, too had vanished. He took a step back, gazing frantically around the church for any sign of him. His surroundings were slowly fading out, and the church was becoming dark. "James!" he called. "Please, answer me! JAMES!" As he turned sharply, he suddenly found himself staring into the barrel of a gun.

BANG!

ooooooo

Randall gasped and rose from his bed with a start, eyes wide and breathing heavily. He gazed around the darkened space, which he quickly recognized as his own bedroom, and in that instant, reality set in, just as it always did. There had been many nights Randall would wake up in a cold sweat after a terrible dream, usually involving his experiences in the human world. A lot of stress and anxiety had come with his banishment, and it didn't all go away the second he returned home. What he always remembered and took comfort in was the feeling of a gentle hand on his back, stroking him soothingly in an attempt to calm him down. Once he was settled back down against the pillow, his partner would pull him closer and whisper words of comfort into his ear.

There was no comforting hand tonight. No comforting words. No comfort at all, and there never would be again. He had thought he'd be used to waking up and not feeling Sulley's arm around him by now, but it never got any easier. And as the slender monster laid back down against the pillow and turned his head to gaze at the cold, empty space beside him, he immediately felt tears sting his eyes. Nightmares still haunted him to this day, only now it seemed like his mind had filtered out the bad memories of his banishment and replaced them with something far worse.

Knowing there would be no getting back to sleep at this point, Randall threw the covers off his body and climbed out of bed, raising a hand to swiftly wipe at his cheeks as he felt his tears respond to his sudden shift and roll down his face. He shuffled his way over to the single window of his bedroom and opened the blinds, letting in the blue artificial light of the street lights below. It was pouring outside, so much so that it was difficult to see the cars lining the parking lot below. His tired eyes gradually shifted, and he found himself looking down at a particular spot in the asphalt just below his window. His teeth clenched slightly, and he felt a tightness in his chest. It had been over a year since that day. Nearly two, in fact. But he didn't think he would ever get to a point where the memory would stop feeling so recent to him. It had been so senseless. So completely, utterly senseless.

It had been a chilly night in October. The two had been just six months into their marriage. Sulley had casually made the suggestion that they go to a movie, something neither one of them had done in quite some time, mostly due to the fact that they hated having to pay practically an entire month's rent just to do it. Neither of them being particularly interested in any of the movies that had been playing, they both settled on a romantic drama. The two had gone into the theater, fully prepared to watch the film like two, civilized adults. That had lasted for all of about twelve minutes. They spent most of their time laughing and critiquing the movie, commenting on the horrendous acting and how unrealistic it was. Their childish antics didn't go unnoticed, of course, and they found themselves being shushed more than a few times. If they weren't busy critiquing the movie, they were quietly making fun of people's reactions in the audience. It came to a boiling point when Sulley had made the suggestion to Randall of putting something else besides popcorn inside the popcorn bucket. A woman sitting three rows below them finally stood up and turned to berate their behavior, waving a clawed finger at them as she did it. The couple finally left after that, giggling as they went, while feeling everyone's glaring eyes on their backs as they descended the stairs. They had had fun, even if they didn't stay for the entire movie. Though they decided that it'd probably be best if they stuck with comedies and action movies, lest they wanted to be banned from the theater entirely, with their pictures hanging up in the lobby.

The drive home had been fairly quiet. Both monsters were feeling tired and quite eager to return to the comfort of their apartment. Sulley had mentioned having a beer, while Randall flirted with the idea of taking a hot bath. "You're not feeling too tired, are you?" Sulley had asked him as he made a left turn at the last light before arriving at their complex.

"No," Randall had replied with a knowing smirk, catching the mischievous gleam in his partner's eye.

Once they had parked, Randall slid out first, turning back when he heard Sulley cursing under his breath when he couldn't get his seatbelt undone, which earned a few laughs and snide remarks from his husband. That's when it happened. Randall's back had been turned, his attention completely focused on his partner trying to free himself from his seatbelt. He never even bothered to check his surroundings before getting out of the car. The blow came swift and hard against the back of his head, causing strobes of light to dance across his line of vision. He fell against the side of the car, feeling someone's hands trying to fish their way into his pockets, no doubt in search of a wallet. His instinct to fight back kicked in immediately, and he had found himself swinging multiple arms in an attempt to land a decent blow to the assailant. While Randall hadn't been the least bit concerned with losing his wallet and all the money that was inside it, he wasn't about to let the bastard assault him and get away with it. Skilled though as he was in self defense, his attacker had already gotten the upper hand by coming at him from behind, leaving him somewhat dazed and disoriented.

Sulley had responded in an instant, ultimately breaking the seatbelt as he threw himself out of the car. Within two seconds, he was on the other side of the car and swinging his fist, roaring loudly as he did so. Though the mugger had staggered, he didn't go down completely. The two monsters traded blows, cursing each other as they struggled to get the upper hand. It was a swift blow to the temple that finally sent the assailant stumbling to the ground, at which point Sulley had assumed the guy would just pick himself up and vanish into the night. He had immediately rushed to Randall's side, helping to keep him steady as he repeatedly asked him if he was all right. That's when Randall had seen the gun, and it was only when Sulley followed his panicked gaze that he saw it, too. He had acted without a second thought and immediately stepped in front of his partner, shielding him just as the trigger was pulled. Randall would never forget that sound.

The mugger had finally fled after that, leaving a hysterical Randall sitting on the ground with his bleeding husband in his arms. "No, no, no," he had repeated over and over again as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket, unable to keep his fingers from shaking as he dialed 911. All around him, dogs were barking loudly, and lights were flipping on throughout the apartments, though he hardly noticed. "Please, I need help! My husband's been shot!" he had pleaded into the phone, desperately pressing his hand against the bullet wound in Sulley's chest. Back and forth he went with the dispatcher, sometimes feeling as though he was repeating himself. "PLEASE, JUST SEND SOMEONE! HE'S DYING, YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"Calm down, honey. It's gonna...be fine."

The voice had been so quiet and weak that it was a wonder he had even heard it. He remembered seeing Sulley smiling up at him, though his face was contorted in a grimace.

"Why?" Randall had asked him, his voice so much quieter than it had been just seconds earlier when he had been screaming into the phone.

"What'd you mean 'why'? What….kind of question is that?" Sulley had responded through clenched teeth.

"O-Okay….just s-stay still and don't t-talk." Randall had managed to slip out of his jacket and press it against the wound, hoping it would do more to stop the flow of blood.

"I…guess this….is what we get f-for….acting like brats at the movies."

"Sullivan, shut it!" Randall had shouted, his voice cracking under heavy despair. As he began to sob, Sulley had reached up a hand and gently touched it to his face.

"Stop," he had whispered to him, running a thumb across his cheek. "It'll be all right." The strength in his voice was fading.

Latching on to his partner's hand with all four of his own, Randall continued sobbing, ignoring the spectators who had begun to nervously shuffle out of their apartments to see what had happened. Knowing his final moments were upon him, Sulley had managed to softly utter his last words to his partner: "I love you. Always…remember that."

Randall never had a chance to return those words. Though the life had left Sulley's eyes, the realization that he was no longer living only set in when Randall felt how heavy his hand had become. "No," he had whispered shakily, grasping his spouse's hand even tighter and holding it against his face. "NO!" He had attempted many times to revive his husband, pressing against his chest and breathing into his mouth, but once he had come to the realization that his efforts couldn't bring his partner back, his attempts at resuscitation eventually transitioned to peppered kisses, tears falling heavily against his face. "Please…come back. James, please…"

Once the paramedics had finally arrived, one of them had to physically pull Randall off and away from Sulley's body. From that moment on, he couldn't make sense of anything. Even after the police had arrived and tried to ask him a few standard questions, all he could do was stare at the remains of his spouse lying lifelessly on the ground, covered by a white sheet, all while clutching his bloody jacket against his chest. Every word that was spoken to him was just noise at that point. The flashing blue and red lights of the ambulance and police cars became too much of a strain on his eyes, and he had eventually walked away from the scene, still sobbing quietly.

Guilt had almost immediately set in. Randall was no stranger to the fact that the neighborhood he lived in wasn't the safest; it had one of the highest crime rates in the city. Sulley had constantly worried about him, always pestering him about finding another place in a safer part of the city, with Randall always dismissing his concerns. Even after Sulley had moved in with him, the topic of finding somewhere else to live had always come up, usually after the two had seen a story on the news of a local shooting, often just right down the street from where they lived. Right after they had gotten married, they had immediately started setting aside money for their first home. It was something they had both dreamed of for years but had never really been financially stable enough to do on their own. They had been so close to finally making it happen. It was the next biggest step for them in their lives. Now it would never be. Not together, anyway.

The visitation had taken place just two days later, the turn out being nothing like Randall had ever seen. Even their wedding could not have compared. Whether the guests attending had heard about Sulley's death directly from friends and family, on the news, or just reading about it in the paper, it seemed half the town had showed up to pay their respects. Sulley's mother had situated herself next to the casket, rocking herself back and forth as she tried to hold it together for each and every guest that passed her to offer their condolences. Randall had barely spoken a word that night, though he could hardly speak at all, given how hoarse his voice was from all the time he had spent crying. He never left his mother's side, the large crowd of guests making him uneasy. Still, he tried his best to smile and offer his appreciation as someone approached him to offer their sympathy.

In the months that followed Sulley's death, Randall had to wonder how he could have ever lived without him. How could he have ever hated him? Simply getting out of bed in the morning became a challenge. Too often he had woken up with no recollection of that night and would call out to his spouse when he would not find him in bed next to him. The crash back to reality was always a hard one. One of the hardest things for him was finding strands of blue hair all throughout the apartment. He would still find them on the couch, in the bathroom, and even inside the pillow cases. What was once nothing more than an annoyance now felt more like a punch in the stomach every time he saw them. And then of course there had been the issue with Sulley's personal belongings. Though he could never bring himself to get rid of them, he also couldn't bear to look at them. He had gathered up every last item that had belonged to his late husband in a box and shoved it in the closet. Even the few garments of clothing Sulley had owned had been pushed to the far right corner of the closet, well out of sight. Of course it didn't take long for him to realize that trying to forget about him was a terrible way to handle his grief. Occasionally, he would open the closet and trail his fingers along Sulley's clothes, sometimes even pressing his face against them to see if his scent still lingered there.

It hadn't been long before Randall had started suffering from survivor's guilt. While Sulley had sacrificed himself willingly, Randall still felt as though he hadn't been deserving of life. Why should he have been the one to live? What had he offered in life besides pain? Sulley had brightened everyone's lives and had always gone out of his way to help others. Randall had spent most of his adult life being bitter and vengeful. Where was the benefit in having someone who had so much more to offer give their life so that someone less deserving of it could live? It made no sense to him, and he hadn't been the only one who felt that way. Or at least that was the impression he had gotten from Mike, who had not reached out to him during the first few weeks following Sulley's death. Even during the visitation, he remembered Mike acting quite coldly towards him, barely saying even two words to him. He had been so certain that he had resented him for having lived while his best friend was dead. That was until he had gotten a phone call from him late one night.

The conversation had started out very calm. Randall hardly spoke a word as he listened to Mike try to explain his behavior. He had first apologized, acknowledging that he hadn't been fair in the way he acted. "I was mad at you, yes….but not for the reasons you're probably thinking," he had said to him. "I wasn't mad because you had lived instead of Sulley. I would never wish that. I guess I still had some hang ups about your relationship with him. I never fully came around to accepting it. I guess I just felt that…if Sulley had never been involved with you to begin with, this wouldn't have happened. I know that's not fair." It was about five minutes into the conversation before Mike finally broke down over the phone, his words barely understandable. Randall was only able to say so much before he, too, broke down. The rest of their conversation consisted mostly of the two of them sobbing into the phone, neither one understanding anything else the other was saying. Their relationship changed after that.

Randall had migrated into the living room and was now situated on the couch, contemplating whether or not to turn on the TV, if just to have the noise. Noticing his cell phone on the coffee table in front of him, he reached forward to pick it up, realizing he hadn't shut it off. Flipping it open, his face became illuminated by the light of the small screen. He opened the photo gallery, his gaze immediately settling on the last picture he had snapped: a picture of Sulley, just two days before his murder. He was situated at the dining table, a newspaper in hand. His eyes scanned the rest of the photos, and he found himself smiling despite his tears. "You were always the more photogenic one."

Flipping the phone shut, he took note of the time on the screen: 4:39 a.m. Seeing no point in trying to go back to sleep, he shuffled his way into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

ooooooo

He didn't know how long he had been staring at the headstone. The only thing he seemed to acknowledge at that moment was the fact that rainclouds were building up, and the temperature was steadily dropping. The only other visitor besides him had already hopped in his car and was now pulling through the front gates, but Randall felt compelled to stay, even if it ultimately meant him getting drenched any moment.

"You're an idiot," he snapped, the first words he had spoken since he first arrived. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking: 'What else is new?' Bet you're tired of hearing me say that." Randall glanced down at the ground beneath him, marveling at how lush the grass was. It had filled in so nicely. It hadn't been easy having to sit on dirt and grass seed the first few months after the burial. "You had so much going for you. You were loved by so many and still are….Myself included," Randall added in a whisper. "You left a world of hurt behind, Sullivan. And for what? What good am I to this world? And what the hell makes you think I would have wanted to live without you in it?!"

A gust of wind struck Randall without warning, and he had to wonder if it was Sulley berating him for his words. "I hate you," he growled, eyes welling with tears. "I hate you for making me love you! I remember a time when all I wanted was to see you vanish without a trace!" Squeezing his eyes shut, the monster tried to compose himself. "…Now I'd give anything to have you back,"

Randall stiffened as he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Wiping at his eyes, he turned to see Mike standing just a few feet behind him. "Sorry," he said quietly as he began to approach the grave. "I know you'd probably rather be alone right now."

"No, it's fine. You're fine."

Unable to find a space in the two stone pots on the base of the headstone, Mike opted to instead just place the small bouquet of flowers on the ground. He took a step back and glanced at the other monster out of the corner of his eye. "You know….back before you two even started dating, I knew Sulley had a thing for you. Heck, he didn't even know it, but I did. He never stopped talking about you. Any conversation he and I had, he always managed to find a way to squeeze your name into the discussion. And any time you were around, he never took his eyes off you. I knew he was falling for you."

"And you weren't too happy about it."

Mike chuckled. "Nah. I thought he was nuts. I couldn't understand what he saw in you. I didn't think you were any good for him. I felt like it was a disaster waiting to happen….but I swear, I had never seen him so happy." Mike's face became even more solemn as he gazed at the headstone. "He told me he was going to propose to you. He showed me the ring and everything. And I remember….I remember he told me he'd die for you." He could see Randall looking his way now. "I just…I never thought there'd come a time when he'd have to put those words into action." Mike turned to meet the other's gaze. "He didn't take that bullet thinking he was going to die. He did it out of fear that you would if he didn't….and there was no way he would have been able to continue on without you. He said so himself. He always said you were the stronger one, that'd you'd be better able to move on without him around than he would without you."

"That's crap," Randall snapped as he looked away sharply, blinking away tears.

Mike shrugged, settling down on the grass beside the other monster. "Listen….don't just live without him, live for him. Buy that house, go on those trips, do everything you were planning on doing together. Do it all, because it's what he would have wanted you to do." Reaching out a hand, Mike squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "It's hard. It'll always be hard, but you're not alone in any of this."

Closing his eyes, Randall nodded slowly. "Thanks, Mike."

If there had been just one good thing that had come out of Sulley's death, it had been the fact that Randall and Mike had managed to rekindle their friendship. They had turned to each other in their time of grieving and had found solace in each other, forming a bond far stronger than any they ever had.

Feeling a raindrop strike his arm, Mike glanced upward at the darkening sky. "We better get out of here before we get soaked." Seeing no other car besides his own, the cyclops looked to the other monster and frowned. "Did you walk all the way here? You live two miles away."

"I just felt like taking a walk."

"Well, c'mon, I'll drive you back," the smaller monster replied as he got to his feet and started making his way back to his car.

"You mean you're not worried about me tarnishing the upholstery?" Randall teased, remembering a time when Mike would scoff at the idea of letting him ride in his car.

"Just get in the car, lizard boy."

Smiling, Randall finally stood up to leave, though not before having one last longing glance at the grave. Raising his hand, he kissed the tips of his fingers before touching them to the top of the headstone. "I love you."

Author's Note: This story came straight from the depths of hell, I swear. I felt it was Sulley's turn to get the axe since Randall's been the one to die so far in these stories. Polka, if you're reading this, I hope this is to your liking. I remember seeing a post on your tumblr about how you were craving something that involved Sulley getting hurt, or dying. Well….here you go. But I decided I kind of wanted this story to have more of a bittersweet ending. It's tragic, yes, but I wanted it to end on more of a lighter note.