Joy
Sadness had never really regretted being sad all the time. How could she? It was her. She couldn't tell you that she had always known her worth, and she couldn't deny being a little extra sad every time she was pushed aside, but then, that's how things always had been. And it was sad, but that was okay.
And then Joy had let her drive. She had seen what all of them had missed, and maybe even helped Riley mature a little in the act of maturing themselves…
So, when she receives a 'good job,' or a pat on the back of one of Joy's genuine smiles directed at her…
Well, she thinks that maybe she can learn to like smiling, too.
III
Dream Duty was always a bit of a drag. Fear found that all of them, even Joy, would make remarks every now and then about how Dream Production was running out of ideas. And, sure, nightmares would really get to him, but it takes a lot out of a person, being scared, and darn it all, he just wanted to sleep when the end of the day came.
But, it was a duty that they all had to share, and it was his turn, so he dared not complain to anyone but himself. He could sit through the night.
But then, in the middle of watching a rerun about some dancing unicorn, his night got much better.
The noise behind him startled him at first, but the shock melted into plain confusion when he spotted Disgust sauntering up to the couch where he sat.
When she caught his questioning (cautious) gaze, she rolled her eyes half-heartedly and offered a short "couldn't sleep" before sitting a bit closer than necessary and looking up at the screen.
And as the night drew on silently, a now wide awake Fear found himself genuinely happy about being stuck with Dream Duty. Just this once.
III
Being a hockey player meant a lot of things. It meant that Riley was athletic and adventurous. It meant that she had opportunities in her future not allotted to all. It meant that she learned determination and focus at an early age.
It also meant dealing with people who were just as determined as her. And wrong.
Anger liked it when Riley played hockey, but every time her voice was ignored because she was a player, she couldn't have seen what actually happened, she was a child…
So the first time Riley and her emotions found the adults staring down at her, listening to her account of what happened out on the ice, treating her like a grown up, like a person—
Well, Anger found that he liked seeing their girl get the recognition she deserved.
III
If Disgust didn't abhor being freak-out-happy, she would have been whooping for joy when Mark asked Riley out finally.
She had personally hand picked him, of course, but there was so much work in getting the two together. Since the puberty alarm had sounded, the control panel had seemed to shift and expand and she found herself working overtime to tap into all of the nuances that went into Riley getting her first crush. She let Joy take the wheel mostly, when they were with him, but behind the scenes Disgust would be there convincing Riley not to settle.
So, yeah, it felt good to see her hard work pay off. And sitting back, far from the panel as the two fourteen year olds laughed together, she grinned contently at a job well done.
A/n: Okay, so, yeah. I didn't mean for things to get shippy but the Fear/Disgust thing just sorta...happened. Sorry, not sorry, guys. 3