If I Didn't Have You

~30 Themes. Short drabbles circling one of the best PIXAR movies of all times. Sulley and Boo centric. Oneshot~

~Monsters Inc. (c) PIXAR 2001~

1. Soft

Mary would wrap her thin arms around the large, furry monster—her small body dwarfed comically by his huge arms as he embraced her in return. Her pale face was pressed into large chest, the little girl's tears disappearing into his sot fur.

2. Time

Years had gone by since their adventure. The old closet door remained relatively the same, cracked and haphazardly pieced together on the monster side, and faded on Mary's side. The girl's bedroom had been repainted through the time that passed, small tea table replaced by a pristine white desk, and the messily scrawled images were replaced and redrawn. Several old toys had been given away, and her room matured in general, and Mary grew up with it. And yet, throughout all of the years that passed, Sulley continued to call her Boo.

3. Care

James P. Sullivan always had to be careful. He could unintentionally injure another fellow monster, simply by accident, and a backhanded gesture could result in him knocking someone clean off their feet. At times, it was as if he lived in a world made of cardboard, and his strength was wholly unmatched. But when embracing Boo, he never had to worry.

4. Thoughts

Mike knew the chances were slim. There were hundred—hundreds of thousands of wood chips and splinter which may or may not have been part of Boo's door. The little human girl beyond the closet door may or may not even remember them, and that this entire plan—psychotic as it was—may or may not work. Realizing that life could be increasingly annoying at times, but steeling himself, the small one-eyed monster pushed away his betraying thoughts, bought another box of band-aids and continued gluing the wooden pieces together.

5. Fear

Sulley had never felt true fear before this moment.

Racing down the hall—Waternoose's shouts and clacking of his several crab-like legs against carpet not far behind, Boo clutching his shoulder, the large furry monster felt his heart skip a beat. Or two. Or four. And that was when realization set in. The pounding of his heart—ringing in his ears, along with the tightness in his chest, demonstrated something the scarer hadn't felt in the longest time—if ever. Pure, unrestrained fear, not only for himself, but the small human child in his arms.

6. Name

Mike called her an it. This annoyed Sulley to no end, and he made a point of referring to the small human child as a she. The one-eyed monster and he had several differences when it came to the girl, but naming her had been the largest.

7. Desolation

The sinking feeling of failure had been alien to James P. Sullivan until now. As he threw open the heavy metal door that had led to his banishment from Monstropolis, only to be confronted by thick white nothingness, he felt the sinking feeling nearly engulf him as he stared out at the snowy peaks that went on for miles around, the portal to his world long gone. And it had taken Boo with it.

8. Q and A

Boo was constantly asking questions. She was closer to the large, furry monster than her own parents, and trusted Sulley with keeping her secrets and answering her many questions. But when the girl—now ten years old—asked where babies came from….well, the fearless James P. Sullivan had instantly paled, and said he'd answer her question in ten years.

9. Identity

Mary liked to think that she had two separate identities. At home (the human world) she was known as Mary Gibbs; seventh grade loner, artist, and the only girl in class not fawning over some boy or another. But in the monster world (which she considered to be her actual home) she was known simply as Boo; nothing more, nothing less.

10. Color

Looking out her window, and out onto the large oak tree just behind the glass, Mary couldn't help compare this world to the monster one. If she had a choice, she would gladly choose to the stay in Monstropolis, with Sulley. But of course she didn't have that option, and the human world was incomparable and colorless compared to the monster one.

11. Stone

Looking back on that day, Sulley couldn't help but wonder…what would've happened if he'd gotten there faster. Perhaps she could've made it…and maybe she would be at his side, safe at home, and he wouldn't be in this….place. Heaving a sigh, and willing for the tears not to come, Sulley turned away from Boo's gravestone and began the trek back home.

12. Will

Mike truly didn't have the heart to tell his friend that Boo would eventually grow up. She wouldn't be three years old forever, and soon enough, she would mature. The girl might forget their entire adventure, forget them, but they had to let it be. If nature intended for her to forget, then what could they do to stop it? And even though the large, furry monster—now CEO of Monsters Incorporated, and visited the girl on a near weekly basis, Mike didn't have the will to tell him that those might soon come to an end as well.

13. Faith

Mary always had faith. Once a month, on the same day, the girl would sit up in bed, awaiting the telltale sound of a closet door opening. Sometimes he was late, others early, but Mary waited nonetheless. He would always come…and tonight was no exception, the fourteen year old affirmed.

14. Cold

Boo was freezing. Her fingers were shaking from the cold, lips beginning to turn blue, and despite the heavy winter coats she wore and the gloves on her hands, she felt like a living icicle. She was going to get back at Mike for that snowball down her neck, that was for sure.

15. New

"What's his name?" Sulley inquired, taping the glass bowl haphazardly. The ten year old waved his clawed hand away, and answered with a grin, the small green fish in the tank swimming around rapidly.

"Mike Wazowski."

16. Permanent

She had been a permanent thing in his life. Sulley had come out of Boo's closet to finish her since she was a toddler, up until her teenage years. She would never tire of him; never grow too old to see him. Even when she started high school, finding new interests, joining an art club and...getting a boyfriend, Sulley had always been her safe haven. Her stability. Mary could speak to him about anything; she would rant for hours on end about something concerning school, a teacher, friends, and he would listen. His everlasting patience was a virtue, and they could speak openly about anything. But the day had soon arrived, too quickly for his tastes, that Boo would be leaving. Heading off to college, where her friend wouldn't be able reach her. Hugging him one last time before leaving her old room—and the closet door— all together, Boo promised him that she would be back. And Sulley knew that she would uphold that promise.

17. Breath

The little girl's breathing was soft—almost unnoticeable, but there nonetheless. Her chocolate brown eyes were closed, dark bangs falling over her brow, and her lips forming a small 'o'. Her equally small chest rose and fell with each breath, as Sulley stood watch next to her closet door, as per request.

18. Memory

She would wake up in cold sweat; sobbing. Sulley would quickly run to her room, the one that used to be Mike's, to find the girl clutching her blankets in tight fists, tears streaming freely down her reddened cheeks. In turn, the large monster would wrap his arms around her, allowing the girl to cry freely into his chest. He would whisper quiet assurances to her, trying to calm her. But Boo hadn't been the same since the loss of her parents, and the accident replayed in her mind almost every night.

19. Home

The human world was alien to her. Everything seemed strange and out of place in what should have been her usual environment, unknown and anomalous. But walking through the closet door, into the world of lush, vibrant colors and equally vibrant people, a city filled with literal monsters and creatures from most children's' nightmares, Boo would finally let out the breath she'd been holding.

Now she was home.

20. Cocoa

It was strange how the smallest things made the biggest difference. Boo sat squashed between Sulley, Mike and Celia on the couch, a blanket draped over the former, as the large furry monster handed her a cup of steaming hot chocolate. A Christmas movie was playing on the television, repaired since the human girl had broken it so many years ago, and the buttery smell of popcorn drifted out of the kitchen. Mike was currently complaining about the cheesiness of the film they were watching, and the two women of the group had to constantly shush him. Sulley only chuckled, glancing down at the small girl snuggled against his side.

True happiness did indeed exist.

21. Exhaustion

Moments between Mike and Boo were rare. The human girl usually stuck to Sulley's side like glue, following him around like a miniature shadow. But the CEO was hassled with more paperwork than Mike ever had to deal with in his five+ years of working at the company, and so, the one-eyed monster had been saddled with taking care of Mary for the day. The four year old hadn't changed much through the course of a year, and both acted and looked relatively the same. After snooping around the apartment to see if there was anything new, the little girl had sat down to watch television, pulling Mike along with her. Afterwards, he had been coerced into playing hide 'n seek, and after ten minutes of not hearing Mary's common giggles, he'd finally found her fast asleep behind the sofa. Picking her up with utmost care, Mike had placed the girl on the couch, and after scrounging up a blanket, threw that over her as well. The kid was cute, he'd admit that.

22. Directive

Roz knew about the little human girl causing havoc throughout the factory. And upon laying eyes on her and the top scarer, the slug-like monster knew that Sullivan was attached to her. It was evident in his features, and how the girl held him tightly, as if knowing of her coming fate. She had given them a few minutes alone, and while Wazowski had indeed looked downtrodden, it was Sullivan who looked utterly broken hearted as the door was put through the shredder.

Now Roz wasn't oblivious—not in the slightest, in fact—and she knew that the one-eyed cretin was slowly but surely piecing the door back together. She knew that Sullivan wanted to see the girl again—needed to see her, in fact, as the CEO's mind was interminably locked on the human girl. Although Roz remained silent, despite all the rules Sullivan and Wazowski were violating. They deserved a break.

23. Companions

The two of them had been through thick and thin. They'd been banished, forced into looking over a small human girl, toxic or not, and had nearly been killed on several occasions. But that one little girl changed everything. As she grew, she began to call them the three amigos- the three musketeers even. Mike and Sulley never questioned her.

24. Big

When Mary was younger, Sulley had towered over her—enormous and powerful, his huge shadow casting over her tiny frame. But as years passed, the girl found...that he wasn't as tall. Perhaps she had grown older.

25. The End

There was no doubt in Boo's mind that she would remain with Sulley forever. He was like a father to her, a best friend among all others, and her most trusted confidant. He had been the one with her—the girl barely twelve years old—when she'd received the call that her parents had died in a car accident.

26. Doors

As a child, Mary never questioned the logic of having a whole other world in her closet. It had been natural; a normal thing. But as she grew older, she had to admit that it was a bit screwy to think about.

27. Determination

Mary was a strong-minded kid, Sulley would give her that. The eleven year old hadn't moved an inch for the past several minutes, brow furrowed and hand poised over her chin. The large monster across from her had both elbows resting on the table, and Boo simply gazed down at the chessboard between them with more determination that a child her age should've had.

28. Introduction

"Celia, meet Boo. Boo, Celia."

The two women stared at each other for some time, the Medusa-like monster looking down at the small, smiling human girl, her eye wide. "Cee-Cee!" Boo cried jovially after a moment, and Celia found the child's grin to be contagious. Turning back towards Mike, her boyfriend sifting nervously from foot to foot, the scaly-haired receptionist smiled.

"Well….I guess she's pretty cute."

29. Honest Truth

When Boo was in the second grade, her class been assigned a project. The point of it was to present to their peers who they thought was the biggest, strongest person in their life. Their role model, of sorts. While most children brought along their fathers, mothers, or even older siblings, Mary had come alone. When she went up to the front of the class to begin her presentation, the teacher had kindly inquired where her role model was. The girl's answer was simple.

"Kitty couldn't make it."

30. Family

Sulley knew that Boo had a family back in the human world. A loving mother and father, grandparents, perhaps. She couldn't stay in the monster world forever. Her kin were on the other side; her protectors and safe keepers. And yet, the girl acted as if he was the only one she had.

A/N: If you've read my other stories, then you know that Monsters Inc. isn't really my penchant. I usually write Cars stories, but I recently watched this movie again and a ton of little prompts came into my head. This is the end result.

Please review!