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It was over.
Or rather, it was just the beginning.
Joy had managed to bring all of Riley’s original emotions home and restore Riley to her true self. What, or rather, who was Riley’s true self? That was up to Riley to decide now. At least now, she would be there for her to help her along her journey of self discovery.
Her, and all her fellow emotions. Even the new ones!
After the final hockey scrimmage had ended, all the emotions had committed to cleaning up Headquarters. The place had been left in shambles ever since the demolition crew had arrived earlier that week, and only now were any of them able to begin to fix up the tattered place. Sometime in the middle of clean up, the crew had returned to finish their work. After a feeble attempt to scold them for their carelessness, Joy went ahead and let them resume their unfinished work. They not only completed the remodeling of Headquarters, but cleaned up all the extra messes made from the past three days as well.
So in reality, she could not be too cross with them. Truthfully, Joy was simply grateful to be home safe and sound. She was relieved she had come to accept and understand Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. She was also relieved they had eventually accepted her and her friends as well. A new era had begun inside Riley’s mind, one involving their joined partnerships. They were all an important part of Riley, an understanding that had not come easy.
And now, all she wanted to do was crash into the comfort of her newly installed bed and sleep for as long as Riley could manage. They all had barely gotten any rest, and it wasn’t until she was climbing into bed did she realize how exhausted she felt.
As Joy pulled her silky sleeping shirt over her head, her eyes fixated outside the window next to her bunk. She pondered the very recent memories of Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, and her own self roaming the lands of Riley’s mind aimlessly. She never would have imagined she would be cast out into the complex mazes of her girl’s inner mind once again, especially alongside every other emotion.
Though, she would be lying to herself if she did not admit she had been grateful to have them all by her side through the entire ordeal. They all had grown extremely close over the last year, especially after her journey with Sadness. They all shared memories together mixed with their corresponding emotions, and worked together everyday to take care of Riley. They all had learned so much about one another as well, spending plenty of time together outside of manning the console.
It was their strong bonds that had led them to find their way back to Headquarters. Their strong bond, and Joy’s persistent determination keeping them on the right paths. However, even she had come close to being overwhelmed by despair and giving up.
Until Anger had unexpectedly stepped in to encourage her.
His kind words had restored her hope, both metaphorically and literally picking her back up.
“We’re right behind you…”
His soft voice echoed in her mind, tender and full of genuine friendliness. Not only the pleasantness of his tone tickled her memories, but the smile on his face too.
It was not often the grumpy emotion expressed such kindness and tenderness, but he had just for her.
She had always had a fondness for the fiery guy, admiring his intense protection and care for Riley. The memories they created together were some of her favorites. They always felt rewarding, bringing them both a sense of justice and celebration. While some would argue the two of them were vastly different, they did have a lot in common. They both loved Riley, were the liveliest of the emotions, and shared a powerful ambition for the success of their girl.
Put together, they were an unstoppable force. Even when they clashed, they managed to find a way to mesh and work together. Which is exactly what they had done the past few days, and so much more. Joy felt as if she better understood the irritable emotion after their shared trek through Riley’s mindscape. And, she believed he better understood her.
Her outburst in front of the emotions had shocked not only her, but all of them. However, she could not get the pleasantly surprised smile Anger had grown in response to her cursing out of her head. It was as if seeing her so enraged made Anger admire her more than anything. She figured he felt pleased seeing even Riley’s happiest emotion could get angry. Yet, she knew he must also now realize she was more than the usual front she tended to put up for not only them, but herself. She was just as complex as Riley was, with her own personal feelings driving her to make the decisions she did.
And so was Anger.
And she loved that about him.
Were emotions able to feel love? Did Joy know what love was? Riley loved her parents and friends, she knew what that love felt like. But… romantic love? Was that what she was beginning to feel for Anger?
Her only real experience with love was Riley’s crushes on fictional men, and those dreamy boys from that one boy band Riley listened to as a guilty pleasure of hers. Riley had yet to truly fall in love, so did Joy really know what that particular emotion felt like?
She was uncertain, but she knew for sure the feelings she felt for Anger after their journey were something special. Something new.
She wanted to tell him how she was beginning to feel, but how? How was she supposed to tell Anger something that even she was uncertain of herself? The very notion of keeping how she felt from him made her feel immensely guilty. Joy knew if all the emotions were to work together in harmony now she needed to be truthful about how she felt with them all.
Even if it was scary.
“Is this how Fear feels all the time?” Joy chuckled to herself, placing a hand over her chest. There was no erratic heartbeat under her palm, but the buzz of her restlessness and uncertainty prickled her hand all over. “Or is this how Anxiety feels...?”
“You okay, Joy?”
Joy’s head whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice, soft as it was earlier. Anger stood at the bottom of her bunk, his gaze questioning but expression gentle. Joy really could get used to him looking at her like that, though she knew she would never want him to give up his ragefulness all the time. It was just that particular warmth in his smile and softness in his eyes made a special sort of elation spread through her being.
She yearned for more, she yearned for him.
“Oh, yeah. Just talking to myself, that’s all.” Joy finally responded, smoothing back her hair and leaning comfortably against her bed. “I was just thinking about how crazy the past few days were…”
“Ha, crazy. That’s putting it lightly.” Anger chuckled, laying his arms on the side of her bed. “I’d use the terms “insane” and “dangerously harrowing” myself.”
“Eh. Tomato, tomato.” Joy shrugged, leaning on her hip and grinning down at Anger with tired eyes. “All that I care about now is getting some proper shut eye. I don’t think we’ve gotten that little sleep ever since Riley got addicted to that romance video game last semester. What was it called again?”
“The Monster Boy Next Door.” Anger replied, rolling his eyes as he recalled the title. “Riley spent hours trying to woo that fish boy named Liam. And right when we were about to ask him to the Monster Prom, Dad walked in and shut off our laptop cause it was 3 A.M. on a school night! I’d never been so MAD at that man in all of Riley’s life.”
Anger’s passion for the failed RPG romance made Joy sputter with laughter, and not long after the angry emotion joined in on her chuckles. It seemed they both could look back on the ridiculousness of Riley’s video game crush with affection now, even the part involving Riley’s dad forcing them to shut off the game.
“I don’t think I’d ever seen you so mad before.” Joy snickered, wiping a tear of amusement from her eye.
“Dad ruined all our hours of progress with Liam! All those dates, gifts, and witty flirts we looked up on those fan run info sites for the game… wasted.” Anger shook his head, his old frustration returning.
“I never took you for such a passionate romantic.” Joy jested, hoping her tease would be well received.
“Hey, it’s what Riley wanted. I’d do anything to keep her happy.” Anger spoke casually, then gained a surprised expression on face. “Oh, well, I guess that’s your job. But… you know what I mean.”
“No, I do.” Joy responded, smiling sweetly in response to the previous statement. “I wouldn’t be able to keep Riley happy without you, or any of the other emotions. There can’t be joy without sadness or fear or disgust. Or even a little anger.” Joy winked, her voice playful but genuine.
Anger gave her a smirk, and Joy’s non existent heart fluttered.
“I definitely wouldn’t be able to make her happy now if I had not had you guys by my side out there.” Joy added, her head slowly turning to gaze out her window once more. “You have no idea how many times I wanted to give up… but you guys kept me going.”
“I gotta admit, it was pretty shocking seeing that side of you.” Anger told her, then lifted up his hands as if to defend himself. “Not saying that was a bad thing! I kinda liked seeing you lose your temper for a change. But, it just really proved how difficult the situation truly was if it was affecting you so much. I guess all our questions and complaints didn’t help much with that…” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head apprehensively.
“Hey, it’s alright.” Joy reassured him, turning back to give him a comforting smile. “I promise having you guys there really did help me. Especially what you said to me after my little, uh, loss of temper.”
“Oh, that.” Anger seemed bashful, lowering his gaze as if too timid to meet her own now. “That was nothing. I just knew you needed to hear all that at that moment.”
“I did need to hear it. And it wasn’t just nothing, Anger.” Joy spoke seriously now, pulling her knees up to her chest and tilting her head at him. “You made me realize how important it was to keep fighting for Riley. For all of us to keep fighting for her. She’s our girl, mistakes and all.” Joy nodded, recalling what Anger had said to her when she had been so down in her spirits.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you sound so wise.” Anger’s smile and kind tone returned, comfortable once again after Joy’s reassurance. “Should I expect more of these enlightening tips from you in the future?”
“Depends,” Joy’s playfulness also returned, “should I expect more optimistic and uplifting speeches from you in the future?”
“Nah, that’s only a once in a blue moon sorta thing you’ll ever get out of me.” Anger replied, crossing his arms. “But, I’m not opposed to being a little more open minded going forward. Is that satisfying enough for ya?”
“I suppose it will have to be.” Joy giggled, “But I promise, Anger, that I really enjoy you for the emotion that you naturally are everyday. Tantrums and all.”
She swore she caught a flash of an emotion unfamiliar to her in Anger’s eyes. Unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time.
Could it be possible Anger may be feeling what she had been too? Or was her optimism making her think that’s what she had just witnessed within the depths of Anger’s ruby colored pupils?
She figured it was most likely the latter…
“And you’re not so bad yourself, Starshine.” Anger told her.
Their eyes met, wide and shimmering in the darkly lit room. There was a brief silence before Anger turned to rub his cheek shyly.
“Sorry, that was weird. Dunno where that nickname came from…” He grumbled, almost sounding like Embarrassment with how coy his tone suddenly became.
“No, no. I liked it!” Joy quickly reassured him, waving her hands to try and beckon him from his flustered demeanor. “You’ve just never called me something so… nice before. It was sweet.”
“Ugh, that’s not a word I ever expected to describe me…” Anger mumbled, “Sweet.”
“Hey, if I recall you’re the one who said he can’t be the “rage” guy all the time.” Joy pointed out, recalling the surprising moment of kindness Anger had shared in the projection room. “Maybe you should give all the others cute nicknames too.”
“No thanks.” Anger quickly dismissed her unserious suggestion. “Feels too friendly. I think I’ll just stick with you.”
“Aw, why just me? Am I special or something?” Joy joked, leaning her cheek on her knee and batting her eyes at Anger.
“Yes, Joy.” Anger replied, a surprising lack of sarcasm in his tone. In fact, he sounded completely serious. “You are special. I just hope you realize that after all of this.”
“What do you mean?” Joy asked, head lifting from her knees as she grew perturbed by Anger’s sudden shift in seriousness.
“You’re special to Riley, to all of us, to me…” The volume in his voice became barely audible when he spoke the final words of his response. “None of this would be possible without you. Riley wouldn’t be Riley without you. I just want to make sure you never forget that, even if there are times in the future where you need to step back.”
Joy stared starry eyed at the short emotion, both in awe and shock at what he had just offered her advice-wise. Was it just advice? Or did Anger perhaps feel some of what she was feeling?
The smaller emotion took a pace forward, setting a hand on the bed to emphasize his words.
“You’ll always be needed, Joy. If not always by Riley, then certainly by us…” Anger finished, eyes trailing downward towards himself as he uttered the word “us”. “Least… I’ll always need you.”
The use of himself singularly made Joy’s face explode with heat. Whatever feeling was fueling Anger to speak so highly of her, all she knew is that it was making her feel over the moon with gratefulness.
“Thank you, Anger…” Joy thanked him, speechless with how to even continue on responding to his thoughtful words. “I never expected to hear you out of all emotions tell me that. But, I’m very grateful. I think I really needed to hear that after everything that just happened.”
“Hey, I know I can be a hot-headed jerk sometimes. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think highly of you.” Anger then quickly added, “We all do.”
“I think highly of you too.” Joy told him, feeling her cheeks continue to heat as she carried on. She wondered if she was turning as pink as Embarrassment. “You’re just as special, I hope you know that. Not just to Riley and the others, but to me too…”
She watched the emotion’s eyebrows lift, eyes filling with what she could only imagine was the same shocking wonderment his words had been filling her with during their entire conversation.
“Never thought I’d hear you say that about me too, gotta be honest…” Anger finally replied, leaning his arms back against her bed with a sigh. “Goes to show how much you have changed. Or that means I’ve truly changed… What do you think?”
“We’ve both changed.” Joy stated, “For the better, I promise. I think we’re both growing into emotions I’m confident to say I’m happy with. I definitely admire the emotion you’ve become.”
“I admire you too…” Anger met her recognition, gaze softening as he rested his face into his arms. The way his irises gazed up at her made bolts of electricity shoot throughout her being. “Is that weird to say?”
“No…” Joy responded, daring to scooch a little closer to where he stood at the edge of her bunk. “Not at all, Anger.”
Shyly, she reached to set a hand atop of one of Anger’s own. Her small grip barely covered one of his finger’s, and she could not help but observe just how massive his own blocky fingers were in comparison to her own. His touch was warm and she was unsure if it was because he naturally ran hot, or if he was experiencing the same heat she was currently.
That heat full of affection, admiration, full of that unknown sense she could only compare to the same passion she still had much to learn about.
Perhaps they could learn it together.
“I’m really glad you’re Riley’s Anger.” Joy spoke, the words leaving her mouth without much thought. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
Anger’s fingers parted to allow her hand to nestle between them. He softly stroked her with his thumb, the hold on her hand the gentlest she had ever seen the fiery emotion treat anything. It was somehow softer than when he had taken it in the maze of memories. Was it because they were alone?
Or was it because of something else…?
“Well, better get used to me. Cause we got each other all of Riley’s life.” Anger joked, but his eyes rising from his tender grip to her soft gaze revealed to her just how fond he was truly feeling inside.
“Hey, if you can get used to me…” Joy tugged him up into her bed, pulling him in until he was beside her. “I think we’ll be just fine.”
Anger seemed stunned for a brief moment, but his expression quickly softened. Joy’s entire being wanted to shake with happiness, with nervousness, with delight. She wanted to wrap herself in his warmth she could feel emitting from his crimson body, and hold onto that blissful feeling forever. It was such a different type of joy she could not explain, but she did not need to.
She and Anger were exchanging the same exact expressions at that moment, and she knew they both must be feeling the same bewildering feelings. Though unknown and unexplainable, they leaned into one another as if they had understood it ever since they came to life.
Eyes closed, she focused on nothing but how it felt. His heat met her being, her blue aura shining brightly as his own red one ignited in turn. He was soft, the grains of his glittery body flittering about her own golden hued speckles of light. Her arms wrapped around his body, he was small enough for her to almost cover him in her radiant ambience. His strong arms came to rest around her own back, tender and full of affection as they held her oh so lovingly.
Joy wished desperately that a memory could have been produced out of this shared embrace. She wanted to see the physical manifestation of their mutual affections, and hold it in her hands in the form of a brilliant ball of red and yellow.
But she did not need that corporeal token to prove to herself how special this felt.
It simply did.
“You really like me that much, huh?” Anger asked, his voice a low rumble that made Joy shiver.
“I do.” Joy whispered back, cheek running over his own. “Do you like me too?”
“I think you know that I really do by now, idiot.” Anger replied, nothing but affection in his hushed tone.
Joy nuzzled his face with her own, soft lips brushing the area between his eyes and lips. It only took the slight tilt of his head for his own lips to graze her own. And then they pressed forward.
Sparks flew, coursing through her body as if she were filled with nerves herself. Every second that passed with the lip lock continuing made her glowing essence increase. She could hear the heat almost bubbling off the surface of Anger’s body, but it was not anger causing these flickers of flame. Embarrassment? Joy?
Or perhaps the explanation Joy wished for herself.
Love.
Could emotions love?
Joy loved being happy. Joy loved her job. Joy loved her friends. Joy loved Riley. Surely Joy could love anything, then. Even Anger.
As their lips parted and faces drew apart, their eyelids rose to meet one another’s lustrous gazes. There were semblances of shock and delight in the looks they gave each other, but neither spoke a word for some time.
“Will you rest with me tonight?” Joy asked quietly, the hush in her voice fueled by the sudden remembrance that she was in fact exhausted. “I think I’d sleep better if I had someone with me…”
“Sure.” Anger replied, reaching to cup her cheek and stroke it softly. “Just try not to giggle so much in your sleep, kay? Or neither of us will get any rest.”
“I’ve seen how you try and fist fight in your sleep.” Joy countered, reaching for her blankets and chuckling silently to herself. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t wake up on the floor instead.”
“Ha, ha.” Anger mocked, settling in beside her and allowing her to wrap her arms around his body. “I’m certain your grip will keep me from going anywhere.”
“What can I say?” Joy mumbled, nestling her face into the back of his head and taking in just how comforting he felt in her arms. “You’re warm.”
“Mmm…” Anger hummed, eyes shutting closed as he quickly drifted off to sleep.
Joy was not far behind, slipping into a deep sleep she desperately needed.
Tomorrow would be a new day, a new beginning. For Riley. For all the emotions. For Anger. For Her.
She was excited to see what would become of their new lives. What would they learn? What would they do?
Neither knew, and neither truly cared as sleep consumed them. What mattered most was they knew together, alongside their fellow emotions, they were going to make sure Riley received all the care and love she needed.
Love… Joy thought, fleeting as her mind was overcome with slumber.
I think I’m looking forward to learning all about that most of all…