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“Joy, it’s been five hours… we’re going to bed.” Disgust groaned, “Envy already passed out on the console.”
Disgust pointed out, gesturing to the tiniest of all the emotions who was curled up in a ball atop the far end of the console.
“And if we stay up any later we’re going to be too tired for the museum field trip tomorrow.” Anxiety pointed out, rubbing her hands together nervously. “And, if we’re too tired at the field trip tomorrow we could pass out on the bus ride home, and get left behind, and get taken across state lines never to be seen again!”
“Okay, that’s a little unrealistic.” Fear calmly interjected, placing an arm over Anxiety’s shoulder. “Clearly a more logical outcome would be we pass out at the museum, get locked in, and have to endure the creepy statues and paintings all night long until we are found huddled in a corner in the morning forever traumatized.”
“Oh, I see your vision.” Anxiety nodded, somehow calmed by the discussion of horrendous outcomes. “But have you considered…”
Their debating faded away as they headed away towards the bunks for the night.
“C’mon, guys. You’re overreacting. Just one more level, and Riley will be done!” Joy insisted, gesturing towards the large screen in front of them at the gaming console in Riley’s hands.
“Joy, you said one more level… twenty levels ago.” Ennui pointed out, reaching to take Envy in her arms and rest her gently over her shoulder. “We need sleep.”
“Mhm…” Embarrassment concurred with a quiet murmur.
“Nuh uh.” It was Anger’s voice that spoke next, who was leaning against the console with intent as his hands danced across the console controls. “Not until we finish this. Those dirty goblins will be sorry they ever thought about kidnapping the princess!”
“See? Anger’s got the right enthusiasm!” Joy protested, leaning a hand on her hip as she rested against the console.
“He’s always that intense, Joy.” Sadness quietly replied, rubbing her tired eyes with a palm.
“You both are welcome to keep Riley up all night and have us looking like a zombie in the morning, if that’s what you’d like.” Disgust turned and waved to them both dismissively. “But don’t say I didn’t tell you so if you two are just as tired as well.”
“Yeah, we’re going to get some sleep.” Sadness informed Joy, letting out an enormous yawn as she began to slowly waddle away. “Goodnight, Joy. Goodnight Anger.”
“You sure?” Joy asked one last time.
“Riley can function with just you two for the rest of the night.” Ennui shrugged. “After all, that’s her favorite game. All she ever feels when playing it is joy for winning and anger when losing.”
“And anger when she’s facing down a hoard of relentless goblins by herself! Joy, I need your support here!” Anger requested with a shout.
“Oh! Okay, coming! Goodnight guys! Sleep well! I promise we’ll join you soon!” Joy called, then whipped back over to Anger’s side to help encourage Riley onward to defeat the current bad guys she was facing.
The two emotions honed in on the swarm of goblins currently surrounding Riley’s game character. Joy expertly pressed a series of buttons to give Riley the confidence that she was skilled at this game enough to beat them. And Anger slammed his hands down on controls that would give her the spark and determination to defeat them all with everything she got.
Riley let out a quiet battle cry as she charged forward, her character’s sword slicing through a few goblins ahead of her. Then, she whipped around and used her bow to launch a series of missile-like arrows to take down the ones from behind.
All the while Joy and Anger guided her along without missing a beat. Joy hopped over Anger without a second thought, and Anger whipped around Joy to reach for a lever. They moved around one another’s bodies as if they were two conjoined gears, perfectly in harmony as they powered their shared machine.
At one point Anger needed to reach a button that was all the way on the other side of the console. Without even needing to ask, Joy lifted the tinier emotion off his feet and over to the button. He slammed his palm down upon it triumphantly, influencing Riley to charge into the last group of goblins that stood in her path. Once they were defeated, it was time for celebration.
“Woo hoo! We did it!” Joy cheered, and so did Anger.
He hopped off the console with arms outstretched above his head. Joy extended an open palm to him, to which he replied by giving her the high five she sought after.
Then was a brief moment of silence as the pair stared at one another as they tried to catch their collective breaths. The air was electrifying around them, almost as visible as the little particles of their skin that danced across the surface of their bodies.
The moment was cut short as Anger suddenly whipped around to face the screen, his smile fading as his eyes grew wide.
Joy followed his gaze of bewilderment, and then gasped.
A giant, two story tall, goblin king had appeared upon Riley’s gaming console. Its health bar was enormous, as was its mallet that it held over its shoulder.
They had been so caught up in their celebration they had forgotten to ready themselves for the obvious boss fights that tended to happen after intense levels such as this one.
“Ah, crap.” Anger groaned, readying himself at the console once more. “Do we have enough experience to beat this guy?”
“Yes!” Joy immediately answered, “C’mon, Anger. We didn’t just spend all those hours farming for all that EXP, better weapons, and stronger armor for nothing. Let’s show him what happens when he messes with our girl.” Joy took on an almost growly sort of tone, catching Anger’s attention.
He grinned wildly at her, feeling as encouraged by her headstrong determination as he was allured. He loved when Joy got a bit more aggressive, he could easily mesh with it.
“Haha, then let’s bring him down!” Anger snarled, then in unison with Joy they both sent Riley rushing forward with a battle cry.
Riley’s quieter yell sounded off, and she headed straight for the goblin king. She sliced at his legs, bringing him to his knees so that she could jump upon his body. Then, she began delivering attacks to its face over and over again.
“C’mon, Riley!” Joy cheered, hands zipping across the console as she focused all of her attention into giving Riley the conviction to continue.
“Kick his big, green, goblin butt!” Anger cried, slamming his fist down on a button that made Riley smack her sword against the goblin king’s forehead.
The giant monster fell upon his back, seemingly down for the count. However, he rose back to his feet and readied his mallet. If Fear had been present, he would have zipped out of the way to avoid being turned into a meat pancake. However, Joy had another plan.
“On my mark!” Joy announced, reading herself.
“Got it!” Anger took his place as well, both their hands hovering over the same giant button.
The goblin king’s mallet swung over his head, then began to plummet downwards straight atop Riley.
“Now!” Both emotions shouted, slamming their hands upon the button they had been hovering over.
Riley’s character jumped, rising into the air in a brief moment of suspense. Anger and Joy’s bodies pressed into one another, waiting intently for their plan to carry out. Riley’s character eventually landed atop the mallet, then began to race upwards along the giant handle.
“This is it!” Joy could barely contain her excitement, nor could Anger who she could feel shaking against her. “You ready?”
“Ohoho, yeah. We’ve been powering up our special attack for three levels now.” Anger chortled, gripping one of the levers before him.
Joy gripped the other one, grinning and filled with tenacity as the pair waited for the perfect moment. The goblin king rose once more, his glowing eyes staring down Riley as she raced directly for his face.
“Wait for it…” Joy and Anger whispered in unison, their faces growing closer together.
The goblin’s eyebrows furrowed with anger, locking in on the tiny figure that was now racing up his arm.
“Wait for it…” Joy and Anger pressed so close to one another now their cheeks were squishing together.
The goblin opened its mouth in a ferocious roar.
“Now!” Joy and Anger’s hands pushed up on the levers, the top of Anger’s head exploding into a tower of flames. Joy yelled alongside him, all their collective energy pushing Riley to activate her special move they had been saving for this sort of occasion.
Riley’s sword began to glow blue, and her character held it high above her head. Then, it seemed to grow to the size of a dozen swords. Riley whipped it around in a circle and brought it crashing down onto the beast’s face. The blow erupted into a blast of blue light, and when the screen cleared the goblin king was wobbling on his feet. The monster’s eyes closed, and with a low grumble it came crashing down to the earth below. The screen shook for a brief moment as the animation of the goblin king’s defeat played out, then text appeared across the screen that read : “GOBLIN KING : DEFEATED.”
“Yeah! Woo hoo! We did it!” Joy cheered, wrapping her arms around Anger and twirling him in a circle.
The usually touch averse emotion seemed to not care as he was embraced tightly, laughing and cheering alongside Joy as she spun them in celebratory circles. Their foreheads pressed together as Anger wrapped his arms around Joy’s neck to steady himself, and remained that way as their eyes that had been shut tight in elation opened to meet. Anger’s fiery red pupils were full of victorious glee, as were Joy’s own azure pools of triumph.
Their cheerful expressions only faltered slightly once they realized how close they truly were together.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps heading up stairs could be heard from outside Riley’s room.
“Oh, no. We must have woke up Mom and Dad!” Joy gasped.
Since Fear was not around to make her afraid of her parent's approaching footsteps, neither Joy or Anger could do anything to influence Riley to act properly in response to being caught playing games late at night.
Thankfully, Riley quickly stored her gaming console under her pillow and pretended to be asleep. Her heart was still beating with the excitement of beating the level, and a smile was permanently plastered over her face. Joy and Anger could only pray she could get away with her plan to fool her parents.
Riley’s door knob turned then opened, revealing a very tired looking Dad standing in the dimly lit hallway. “Riley?” He called to try and get her attention.
Riley remained perfectly still, as did Anger and Joy who held one another tight throughout the harrowing tension.
“Huh… I swore I heard something.” Riley’s dad mumbled to himself, slowly closing the door behind him. His footsteps faded down the stairs, and the lights under the door eventually were switched off.
Riley let out a sigh of relief, as did Anger and Joy. Joy laughed to herself as her panic evaporated, leaning to set Anger down upon the console as she tried to gather herself together. Anger was also chucking, sounding out of breath after holding in his breath for so long.
The pair’s eyes met once more, close enough to feel the puffs of air escaping their lips as they came down from their shared scare.
“That was close…” Joy muttered, giggling to herself.
Her little fit of tiny laughter caused her smile to scrunch up her nose, and her shoulders to bounce. She was so near him Anger could see every little detail of her face and figure, including the glowing hue of her body and tiny particles of light that dappled her skin. She was adorable this close up…
“Yeah, close…” Anger replied in a hushed tone, his vocal chords humming as he continued to stare at her.
Joy honed in on that statement, quietly observing the position they were in. After she had sat Anger down upon the console, she had planted both hands on either side of him to steady herself. In turn, this had caused her to lean forward rather close to his face, and close to his body in general. She could feel the heat of his naturally, warm, aura emitting from the surface of his skin. His tie had come a little loose during their scuffle to help Riley beat the game level, causing his dress shirt to sit slightly ajar along his shoulders.
She knew her own hair was probably a wild mess from all her jumping and running about, but she could only hope maybe Anger found it as cute as she did his own aftermath appearance.
“Yes!”
Riley’s voice made them turn back towards the screen. She was holding her game console up with one hand and pumping her free fist in the air in triumph. She sounded incredibly happy, as well as filled with vitality. Joy gazed down at the console, realizing then it was glowing in a collective red and yellow hue. Joy had not meant for her and Anger to make Riley feel such intense satisfaction towards winning the game, but both of them pressing against the console must have caused it.
“She deserves to celebrate.” Anger chuckled, turning back to join with half-lidded eyelids. “She had the right kind of emotions involved to earn that win.”
Joy’s own gaze met Anger’s, unable to help matching the incredibly sultry look upon his face.
This was a very new feeling she was experiencing, well, maybe not too new. It was a similar feeling Riley tended to feel when she was forming a new crush on a fictional character. Yet, it was so much more too. Joy’s feelings for Anger were built on respect, the years they’ve spent together, and the mutual feelings of comradery. They had grown to understand one another more as of late, and had bonded closer after the recent adventure across Riley’s mind to retrieve her sense of self.
They just seemed drawn to one another, and meshed well when creating memories together. Tonight was no exception, and only further proved the incredible work the two of them could create when they came together as one.
“Who would have ever thought Anger and Joy could work so well together?” Joy said aloud, leaning ever so slightly further in his direction.
“I mean, we are the best.” Anger grinned, unmoving as he watched Joy grow closer.
“Don’t let the others hear you say that.” Joy teased, reaching to grab at his tie and try and fix it. “Even though I agree…”
“Don’t worry.” Anger spoke, his hands sliding atop her own. “We can keep it to ourselves.”
“You know I’m horrible at keeping secrets.” Joy jested, biting her lip as Anger’s attractive banter brought her in closer.
“I can tell.” Anger responded, his eyes darting to her lips then back up again. “No one is more obvious than you.”
You’re one to talk. Joy thought, knowing very well Anger was wanting to enact the exact same desire as she was in that moment.
It was no secret the two of them had been wanting the same thing from one another for a while, barely hidden within passing glances and admiring stares they often shared. This just so happened to be one of the only moments they were completely alone.
She could feel their collective energies bubbling, a mixture of happiness and heat coming together to make something very new. Very intense.
Joy had never felt this excited before. It was almost blinding, and she seemed to lose control of her own self as she set her hands firmly down on either of Anger’s sides and leaned forward.
“Shut up.” She whispered, pressing her lips into his own. She heard the emotion’s breath catch in his throat, then he pressed back into her kiss.
Anger leaned a hand behind himself as Joy pressed further, the console igniting under them. They completely missed the intense lights that emitted from the entire panel of buttons, as well as the chime of a new memory being created.
The ball of coiling colors rolled down the line of memories, shimmering reds and yellows running along its surface. When it came to a halt, coiling colors flowed all around it as opposed to the static nature of the other memories around it.
It was Riley’s love for video gaming, Riley’s love for the game in general, and a little something more unbeknownst to her inside her head. It was her resilience and strong determination, manifested by the intense compatibility of her emotions of Anger and Joy within her. They did not conflict, but rather came together to make something beautiful.
Though, neither would realize it for a while as they continued to kiss one another passionately. Anger’s large palm slid over Joy’s cheek, and he felt her hands grip at the collar of his dress shirt as she deepened the kiss.
Their lips parted briefly, eyes closed and smiles wide as they took a moment to breathe.
“What are we doing?” Joy asked, her voice filled with delight rather than confusion.
She knew exactly what they were doing, and she couldn’t get enough of it.
“Don’t stop now, Starshine.” Anger chuckled, tracing his thumbs over her face delicately. “You’ve already committed.”
“You know it’s impossible to stop me once I’ve begun.” Joy flirted, pressing her forehead into his as she nuzzled close into his delicious warmth.
“I know.” Anger’s lips grazed her own as he spoke. “That’s what I admire about you the most.”
“You’re surprisingly smooth for such an angry little thing.” Joy twirled her finger around his tie playfully. “Never took you for such a flirt.”
“Shut up and kiss me.” Anger growled, nothing but affection in his gruff tone.
Joy obliged, gripping his collar once more and kissing him with passion… and a little bit of longing. They had brief moments like this before; flirtatious fleeting moments in time always interrupted by the other emotions. Headquarters wasn’t exactly the ideal place for privacy, and their tension had never been able to be broken until now.
So of course, they were going to indulge in this rare moment they had found to themselves to finally let whatever feelings they had been harboring for one another finally manifest.
“We should probably let Riley sleep now.” Joy stated, lifting Anger off the console so that they could stop sending such intense feelings over to Riley.
“And as for our own sleep?” Anger asked, unserious given he knew the answer.
“I’m not letting you get away that easy.” Joy’s voice was wildly amorous.
“I figured as much. I can tell you’ve been wanting to kiss me for some time.” Anger responded.
“Don’t act like you haven’t wanted to do the same.” Joy prodded, raising a brow at the short emotion in her arms. “I’m not the only obvious one here, you know.”
Anger just grumbled, seemingly embarrassed. Joy just giggled, then brought him in for some more kisses. She knew he allowed her to poke fun at him cause he liked her. And she liked him, that much she did know.
She really… really liked him. After all, if the memories they created together felt so good then it only made sense as to why they were so drawn to one another, right?
She had no further explanation for it as the pair continued to make out, not knowing the physical manifestation of their shared feelings for one another sat right behind them amongst all the other memories of the day. It shone brilliantly, and seemed to grow brighter the longer they remained in their passionate lip lock.
Perhaps they would notice it later…