With Fear gone, the others were left suspended for a time in stunned stillness. Disgust was staring blankly at the place he was standing a moment ago, trying her hardest to come up with something, anything, to rationalize how she felt right then.
The others were watching her with rapt attention, though they weren't sure what they were waiting for. But they all understood that it was very, very important to see her reaction to what Fear had just thrown at her. Fear wasn't exactly a stoic person, and to the three of them, this…well, it wasn't his best kept secret. But he was always careful to avoid letting her know. He was terrified of what she would say. Disgust was significantly harder to read.
Now, with the best of hopes for their jittery friend, they waited for some inkling of her reaction.
But…she had no reaction. No scowl, no furrowed brow; no tears, no smile, no laughter— real or mocking. Nothing.
Anger was the first to dare to move. He walked closer to where Joy and Sadness stood, walking between them and placing a hand on each of their arms to alert them to his presence. Joy jerked, and Sadness merely tilted her head towards him, but he took it as a sign to talk. He spoke lowly, "We need to do something. If we leave this to those two nincompoops this will fester something crazy."
The two girls nodded. Sadness spoke up. "I can go talk to Fear. I think, um…I think he might need me."
Joy and Anger silently agreed, though it saddened both of them to think of it. Fear was a sensitive guy by nature. He was probably making a list right about now of the easiest ways to disappear.
Joy finally spoke up then, "I'll talk to Disgust. Maybe I can convince her this is a good thing."
"No, kid," Anger was kind, but firm. "She needs straightforwardness, not blind optimism. As…risky as it might be for Fear, we need her honest answer. I'll talk to her. You man the console; Riley's almost to Samantha's house, you need to make sure she has fun."
Joy looked slightly crestfallen, but perked up quickly and nodded in understanding. Sharing one last glance, the three split, Sadness slowly moving towards the ramp, and Joy and Anger making their way to the console. Anger reached out a hand to Disgust and took her forearm, guiding her away from the panel and towards the kitchen. "Come on. You and I are gonna have a little chat."
Disgust walked blindly, but willingly, and Joy gave Anger one last nod before turning her attention to the view screen.
III
Finally in the kitchen, Anger lead Disgust to the little table in the breakfast nook and waited for her to sit down. He sat across from her, and said nothing for a while, simply observing her. She was clearly more coherent than she had been moments ago, and while he still couldn't tell what exactly she was feeling, it was clear she was concerned by…something. Her hands were clasped in her lap and her eyes would not leave them. Her brow was furrowed, but in contemplation more than anything else. She looked perplexed. And maybe a little bit sad.
Anger took this opening. "What's eatin' ya, kid?"
He received no answer other than a small shake of her head, so he persisted. "I know you can hear me, and I know what's troubling you. Can you tell me what exactly you're thinking about?" Still nothing.
Anger sat back and sighed. It was hard for him to keep his temper in check at times like these; if he asked a question, he darn sure wanted an answer. However, he knew that for Disgust of all emotions to be speechless, something truly important must be sorting itself out inside her head. He had to be patient, for her sake, and for Fear's. He deserved an answer. As much as Anger would hate to admit it to anyone, he considered Fear and him to be very close, regardless of how much they grated on each other's nerves. And he had always had something of a soft spot for Disgust; they were so alike it was sometimes what he imagined a little sister to be like. He wanted so much for them both to be okay through this. But to ensure that at all, he'd need to get Disgust to open up, and he wasn't going to do that by yelling at her.
Deciding on a more direct approach, he tried again. "Look, I know you have an opinion on what just happened. You're an opinionated girl, you know what you like and what you don't," He paused here, trying to catch her eye. "Fear just told you he loves you. What do you have to say?"
It was then when she finally spoke. In almost a whisper, she said, "I don't know."
Anger had a bit of trouble believing her, and as he was about to tell her so, she finally looked up and met his eyes, and his doubts fled. She looked scared. And like she had no idea what to think.
Thinking of nothing to say, Anger decided then that perhaps silence would draw an explanation out of her. He sat as patiently as he could while Disgust's jaw moved time and time again to form words that were lost before she said them. Disgust let out an aggravated sigh, and took a break from trying before finally coming out with actual words. "I knew. I always knew how he felt."
Anger supposed he should be surprised by this, but he was not. Disgust was a smart girl.
"I just never…never thought he'd come out and say it." She gave a humorless laugh, "I don't suppose he though he would, either."
She shifted in her seat, and Anger could tell she was revving up to explain herself out loud. It was how she processed things, and he would let her. "When—if I ever imagined him saying it, I always thought I would feel more..I don't know, annoyed? It's not like it was a surprise to begin with." She looked away from him then, out the window to Long Term, not really seeing. "But, when he said it just now, that's not how I felt at all. I felt…warm."
Silence settled for a short time, and Anger could tell that she had finished her processing. Though he'd been given promising information, he had yet to receive a straight answer, so he finally spoke again.
"Fear loves you."
"I know."
"Do you love him?"
Disgust looked back at Anger, and even before she said anything, he knew the answer.
Disgust shook her head, slowly and calmly, and even as a few tears gathered in her pretty eyes she whispered one word.
"No."
Deep down Anger knew this was always going to be where they ended up. Even if Disgust held a place in her heart for Fear, even if she liked him more than she did the rest of them—and she did, he knew her, he could see it—the fact of the matter was that Disgust wasn't read for love. As perhaps one of the foremost driving forces that would one day be employed when Riley was choosing a boyfriend and husband, Disgust was more in tune with Riley's ability and capacity to love more than the rest of them. Simply put, if Riley wasn't ready, Disgust wasn't ready, on principle and on the sheer grace of being who she was. And Riley was 13.
He looked into her eyes for a moment, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing.
"What are you gonna do?" He asked after a time.
She sighed heavily. "I don't know. I need to talk to him," she looked to Anger for confirmation, then continued, "But what do I say? 'Sorry, but I don't feel the same way'?"
"Is that the truth?"
"Not-not the whole truth." She put her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. After a moment she put her hands down and looked very seriously at Anger.
"No, I don't love him," she began strong, but her voice began to waver, and although he did't think she'd let herself cry, he knew she was close to it. "But I want to."
Her hands went back up to cover her face, and Anger silently felt some relief for his friend wash over him.
"He's sweet, and caring, no matter what I said to him. He's dedicated, and I like spending time with him when were not working, and I care so much for him and it's not fair that I can't love him back!"
She had lost the battle with her emotions, and as she cried softly into her hands anger moved his own to grab hers. She locked eyes with him, his gaze very serious but also understanding.
"Disgust, you don't love him now because you can't. When the time comes, will you love him?"
Disgust searched his eyes for a second before nodding. "Yes. I'm almost certain, yes. I know I can't fairly say that one hundred percent, but…"
"But at the same time, you can." Anger cracked a tiny smile, and pulled Disgust's hands gently so that whey leaned in marginally closer, and he said, "Disgust, tell him that."
She looked surprised, but soon enough a small, tentative smile graced her lips, and she stood from the table. She nodded in gratitude to her friend, and turned and left the kitchen.
Anger took a deep breath of relief. Now all there was to do was wait. And hope.
A/n: I'M SO SORRY IT HAD TO BE DONE. I just...I can't-I don't know. Don't hate me.