Chapter Text
“Good morning, sleeping beauty!” Joy greeted, a gigantic smile spreading over her face as her girlfriend’s eyes fluttered open. Sadness yawned deeply and snuggled further into Joy’s arms.
“Nooo, it can’t be morning yet,” she complained, frowning against Joy’s chest.
The two were lying on their queen-size bed in the room they shared. The comforter—bright yellow at Joy’s insistence—matched the lights up above, which reflected the yellow and blue of the day/night cycle.
The brightly shining gold told her that, despite her best hopes, it was morning after all. Sadness sighed deeply.
“Can’t we sleep in for just five more minutes?” she asked, looking up at her girlfriend with a pout.
“Sadnessss! I already let you sleep ten minutes past when we should’ve been up,” Joy said. Her foot tapped restlessly against the mattress. “They’re all waiting for us! We had a walk through the Islands planned today, remember?”
“That’s not until noon,” Sadness complained, but she still had a faint smile on her face knowing Joy had let her sleep in.
Usually, she was buzzing with too much boisterous energy for Sadness to sleep past the crack of dawn. Joy was too loud getting ready for Sadness not to get shaken awake. She tended to sing in the shower.
Yellow lips kissed the tip of Sadness’ nose, and she ducked her head down, a midnight blue blush creeping over her cheeks. Joy’s eyes crinkled.
Riley and, therefore, the Emotions had figured out they were queer at fifteen, and just a few months after that, Joy had confessed her crush on Sadness. It was one of the few times that Sadness had truly beamed. The pair had been dating for a year and a half now, but she still wasn’t used to the affection Joy showed her.
“C’mon! Up and at ‘em, snoozy!” Joy told her, affectionately nudging Sadness’ shoulder.
With a groan, Sadness pushed herself to her elbows, and Joy bolted upright next to her. She gave Sadness a jubilant grin, bouncing slightly on the bed.
“Daytime! Isn’t it so beautiful? It’s all bright and pretty and hopeful with new beginnings!” she enthused.
“Um… Joy, we can’t even see the sun in here,” Sadness said, giving her a bemused look, a tiny smile perking up her lips.
“Even more reason for us to get out there,” her girlfriend replied.
She hopped out of bed, feet landing on the floor with a thud, and headed over to the coffee machine on the counter of their room. All the Emotions’ bedrooms reminded her of hotels: nothing but a single, skinny rectangle and attached bathroom. Along with the bed, it had a couch, desk, and—best of all—a coffee maker in the corner of the room.
Unlike a hotel room, though, the furniture was bright with puffy angles and a whimsical rainbow color scheme. The ceiling was covered in paper clouds in shades of blue and yellow, and there were so many vanilla-peach scented air fresheners plugged into the walls that the smell was almost visible.
Most of it had been Joy’s idea, but Sadness hadn’t complained about her choices. Well, no more than she always did. She was content to let her girlfriend go crazy with styling the room. She didn’t have many requirements outside of a cozy bed, and their mattress felt like sleeping atop fluffy cotton balls.
Joy got to work on preparing their coffees, hers with a more-than-generous helping of caramel-flavored creamer and Sadness’ pitch black. She returned with cups in hand before Sadness had even swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
“Here you go!” she said, shoving the mug in Sadness’ face. She recoiled slightly at the sudden movement but peeked her head out from around the cup, eyes tender.
“Thank you,” she said, grabbing the handle. She took a long sip and stared down at the coffee fondly. “You always make it just right.”
“You drink it black, love,” Joy teased.
“Maybe… But you make it with two and one-fourth scoops of coffee grounds and a single cup of water because I like it strong. That’s…exactly right,” she replied, only looking up from the swirling darkness after she finished talking.
Joy stood, lips parted in shock, before her whole face lit up. She bounced lightly on the tips of her toes, pearly whites sparkling as she smiled.
“Well, duh! You told me how you like it, but- You noticed!”
“I told you how I like it one time nine months ago, and you’ve made it perfectly every day since,” Sadness said, reaching out and giving Joy’s hand a squeeze. “You’re amazing.”
Joy smiled gently at her girlfriend, gaze sentimental.
“No, you!” she replied, her tone more chipper than ever. She reached out and tapped Sadness’ nose with one slender finger. “Boop!”
Expelling a gentle puff of air through her nostrils—the closest Sadness usually got to a laugh—she shook her head. Then, she booped Joy in return, who scrunched up her nose at the other Emotion, smiling.
She giggled, tugging Sadness to her feet. Her coffee splashed against the sides of the cup at the sudden jolt, and a drop splattered against the floor. Joy looked down at it, eyes narrowing.
The dark spot almost looked like a drying bloodstain. Her gaze seemed to be magnetized to it for a minute, the rest of the room blurring out, but…
Wait.
What kind of a thought was that?
Joy furrowed her eyebrows at herself. A bloodstain? That wasn’t a very chipper idea to be starting off the day with. Maybe she was still thinking about that horror movie they’d watched the night before. Anger had chosen it. There had been gallons of blood in that one.
That must’ve been the problem. Still, something twinged in the pit of her stomach.
She shook her head, dispelling the thought, and looked up from the floor to find Sadness completely frozen in place. Her wide eyes were fixed on the stain seeping into the fluffy, white rug. Her breathing was shaky, and before Joy could react, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
“Oh, oh! Sadness,” she said, jumping into action and taking the second mug from her hand. She set both coffees down on the bedside table and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, pulling her close. “It’s okay!”
Sadness sniffled, shaking her head against Joy’s chest.
“No… I- I spilled it. I’m sorry; I’m sorry, so sorry” she repeated mournfully. Her body was trembling.
Joy knew exactly what was wrong.
Anger, much like Riley’s father, had the tendency to boil over when things got stained or broken, and Sadness often got caught in the crossfire. Countless times, Joy had to tug her silently sobbing girlfriend away from one of his rage fits. Despite the many talks she had with Anger about it, he still had trouble keeping a handle on his fury.
“Sadness… It’s okay. We’re not mad—nobody. I promise! It was just a little spill,” Joy reassured her, but Sadness shook her head again.
“No, but- This is the third time I’ve spilled it this week,” Sadness replied, her voice muffled in Joy’s starry nightgown. “I deserve the shame corner…”
Joy gently rubbed Sadness’ back in circles.
“Not allowed, love. The shame corner is no more! And neither is the shame chair or the shame wall or the shame-”
Finally, Sadness looked up with a hiccuping breath, and a small smile cracked across her face. Joy pecked her forehead and gave her a wide grin in return.
“I’m the Anti-Shame Squad!” she announced, nuzzling her nose against her love’s. Sadness gave her a tight squeeze before stepping back.
“You really are the best, you know that?” she told her, love shining in her eyes.
“I know. Now let’s get out there! Our friends are waiting.”
That afternoon passed in a beautiful blur of fun. They had ridden the Train of Thought down to Imagination Land first. Then, after playing some carnival games there, they had gone down to Dream Studios for a backstage tour and a meet-and-greet with one of the actors. Disgust had totally freaked out over him, squealing and shaking his hand like it was made of pure gold.
Finally, they went over to Hockey Island to play a quick match. The skirmish had quickly turned highly competitive. The two teams were neck and neck with each other up until the final score, and Anger had broken the stick over his knee when he lost by one single point.
The day was over far too quickly for Joy’s preference, but, like it or not, they needed to get back to Headquarters. Riley had been napping for the last few hours, and they couldn’t leave her asleep all day. It would be time for dinner soon, and they didn’t want to deal with Riley’s parents’ interrogation if they missed it. So, they were strolling along toward the Train of Thought.
Joy and Disgust headed up the group, chatting animatedly. Joy was practically skipping as she walked. She loved these little group rendezvous, even though this one was coming to a close. It was always exciting to get to explore at their own pace, unlike when she was desperately trying to find a way back to Headquarters during that crisis a few years ago. Sometimes the memories of that still haunted her at night.
Walking at the back of the group next to Fear, Sadness watched her girlfriend interacting. Anger took up the middle space alone. He didn’t like to be bothered during their walks. Still, he enjoyed the sights most of the time. Imagination Land annoyed him, but Joy loved it so much that they never skipped it. He just had to sulk.
They were walking alongside the Memory Dump. The place still gave Joy the chills if she thought too hard about it, but as long as she kept her eyes trained away, it was alright. Besides, they had to walk past it to make their way back to Headquarters. So, she was trying to distract herself with conversation.
“Hey, Disgust, remember that one time we dug that huuuuuge booger out of Riley’s nose when nobody was looking in the back of class?” Joy asked, wanting to gross out her friend.
“Ugh, don’t remind me. It was such a major ick. And it was so just you, not us,” she complained, shaking her head at the memory.
That wasn’t enough of a reaction for Joy; so, she continued, “That was so satisfying. I should’ve eaten it!”
Disgust physically gagged, bringing her hand to her mouth as she turned a nauseous lime green, but Joy wasn’t done yet.
“I bet it would’ve been all salty and slimy and-”
“Ew, stop that!” Disgust said, and Joy burst out in laughter, doubling over at the way Disgust’s nose bunched up in sheer revulsion.
“Sorry, sorry!” she gasped out through her fit of giggles. “I’ll make it up to you with cookies—booger free, promise.”
“God, you’re so gross!” Disgust cried out, giving Joy’s shoulder a playful shove a bit harder than she’d intended.
Joy, still bent over, hadn’t seen it coming. Disgust’s palm rammed into her shoulder, and Joy went off-balance.
She stumbled, losing her center of gravity and tumbling backward. Throwing her arms out, she tried to counterbalance herself, but it didn’t work.
She braced herself to fall flat on the hard ground, but as she took one more step behind her, her foot didn’t connect with anything.
“Joy!” she heard Disgust and Sadness scream at the same time. Her girlfriend rushed forward, hands outstretched.
It didn’t register to Joy at first what exactly was happening. Her foot had been going down for longer than it should have, but her mind refused to catch up. And then her stomach dropped. Reality hit her as she tipped too far, and the air began to whip against her back. Her thoughts started to turn to static.
She was falling.
And there was nothing to catch her.
Her hands scrambled around, reaching out desperately for something—anything—but there was nothing but air. Her mind completely blanked out, her heart rate spiking out of control as her other foot slipped off the edge of the cavern.
Sadness made it to her one second too late.
She leaned out, trying to reach her love, but it was clear that she would’ve been pulled off the edge too if she had caught her. So, Joy made a split-second decision and didn’t reach out.
Still, Sadness leaned farther out over the edge, desperately stretching her arms across the gap, almost toppling forward too. Seeing what was happening, Anger leapt forward and wrapped his arms around Sadness’ waist, yanking her backward.
“NO!!” she wailed.
Joy felt her heart rate even out for just a second despite the knowledge of what was happening. Sadness was safe. She gave her love one last smile.
And then, Joy plummeted.
Only at that moment did she scream—a long, shrill note that tore through the air as she fell and fell for what felt like an eternity.
Sadness struggled against Anger’s grasp, trying to wrench free, but his strong arms were gripped too tightly around her. He held her there until the screaming cut off abruptly. Finally, Anger let go.
Sadness rushed forward, collapsing to her knees and staring into the endlessly deep pit. The bottom wasn’t even visible, just an impassive pitch black that didn’t reveal a thing.
“No, no, no, no,” Sadness whispered, eyes trained downward. It felt like she was going to be sick.
“Joy!” the scream suddenly ripped from her throat, as terrifying a wild animal’s death cry. It echoed down into the Memory Dump.
There was no answer.
Tears were already streaming down Sadness’ face, but she barely even registered the warm flood.
“Joy…” she sobbed, her voice breaking over the single syllable. Her fingers clutched the ground she knelt on hard enough that her fingertips went white. “No, god, please, not her…”
Fear tentatively stepped forward and placed his hand on Sadness’ shoulder, but she immediately jerked away.
“Don’t touch me!”
Fear jumped backward, retracting his hand like it had been burned. He glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the Emotions, who watched in stunned silence. None of them knew how to react, just looking back and forth among each other. Nothing but the sounds of Sadness’ anguish pierced the air.
“Oh, god, Joy- Please… Please, not her,” she echoed, her voice nothing but a broken whisper, “Not my Joy.”