This was a tumblr only story but I loved it so much, I thought I'd put it here. It is an Inside Out crossover but you don't necessarily have to have seen the movie to know what's going on.

This is told from the perspective of Erick's Joy. Takes place in Growing Pains.

Waiting for Joy

Everything used to be so much better.

But that was before it happened.

Sometimes I wander over to the core memories and stare into the glowing yellow light of the only one not marred by another color. Sometimes I squint and pretend the other colors aren't shimmering nearby. But to pretend that they aren't there, well… that would be wishful thinking. And you can only do that for so long.

Oh sorry, I bet I'm confusing you. My name is Joy and I belong to the most conscientious, creative, intelligent little boy named Erick.

I'm not the only one here in his head, of course. There's also Fear, who keeps him safe, Anger, who makes sure everything's happening the way it should, Disgust, who keeps him from getting poisoned, and Sadness, who… well, he's sort of the boss of all of us.

Don't get me wrong, Sadness is important, he's vital to what we do! Without him, my memories wouldn't be as bright as they would otherwise. Sadness brings meaning to my job and for that, I am really glad he's around.

But sometimes, I wish he'd give it a rest. Unfortunately for me, life isn't working that way. My job isn't as important anymore.

It was fine until that Snoggletog. It was perfect. You should have seen us before it happened. Not all of Erick's memories were bright yellow but most of them were. I kept everything upbeat. The whole place was decorated with streamers and banners and confetti because not only was it Snoggletog, it was Erick's birthday!

I love birthdays, they're the best. And this one was particularly good. I got to take down the idea bulb I'd been saving and polishing and staring at for years. Mistletoe was above our heads and I wasn't going to let that opportunity go to waste. I skipped over and jammed it in the console. And for a moment, everything was perfect.

Let me take a second to backtrack and tell you all about Erick's best friend. Her name is Adrianna but I call her Annie. And she is the most beautiful girl in the whole world. I should know, I picked her. Out of all the kids Erick could have set his sights on, I knew she was special. Sometimes I'd direct Erick to places I knew she'd be so I could stare at her. Something about Annie reminded me of, well, me! And I wanted Erick to have the perfect friend. The best friend ever! I stared at her and I memorized things like how she always liked to wear purple and she would hiccup every time she giggled. Disgust was the one who stopped me from making Erick run over and profess his undying love for her. I mean I supposed it was a little bit early. The middle of the village isn't the best place for that kind of interaction. He probably would have been pretty embarrassed.

But then one day, Annie was sad about something so I gave Erick the perfect idea. I had him draw her a picture in purple ink and give it to her. Fear was going crazy that day but I didn't care! I knew Annie needed to be Erick's friend and I knew this was the perfect time. And she loved the drawing!

That's when they became friends. And the bright yellow glow of a core memory flashed in the headquarters. We watched as it rolled forward and positioned itself in the center. And then a new island showed up: Friendship Island.

And for ten years, that was one of my favorite islands. Sometimes at night, I'd sit and watch through all the best memories with Annie. Discovering a bridge with a troll underneath (it was really a Gronckle taking a snooze and snoring loudly) and reading books with her and playing games and making up stories and talking about life and… well we had a great time! And those bright yellow memories kept on rolling through! Everything was perfect! And then it was Snoggletog ten years after she and Erick became friends and they were under the mistletoe and… well you can probably guess what happened. I inserted the best idea ever and before we knew it, sensors were going off, Erick's heart pounded so loud it shook us like an earthquake, and even Sadness smiled, which is really saying something.

Erick and Annie kissed!

And everything was perfect.

And then it wasn't.

Because right after that, Erick's dad died and then they got into a fight. A big fight. And before I could stop him, Anger grabbed his part of the console and threw it forward. And I heard Erick yelling and saying some horrible, mean things.

And then she was gone. Just like that. And a bright red sphere was racing down the pipes beneath the floor and glowed alongside the other core memories. Friendship Island fell into the abyss.

And Erick was alone.

Anger pretends he's glad Annie's gone but we all know that Sadness guides us now.

Every day, I watch as Sadness controls the console, his melancholy expression never wavering. Sometimes Anger takes over and makes Erick blow up at people. For a while, I got to control it. Then the fire happened and his big sister, who was really helping him deal with his sadness, passed away.

Now I know exactly why he's upset. He's lonely. That's why Sadness oversees everything. And meanwhile, I keep an eye out for that beautiful girl. I know she's the only one who can really bring me back, who can give me my job again. And at nights when I'm on Dream Patrol, I watch the best memories of Annie and Erick again. Beautiful Annie and confident Erick toddling hand in hand through the woods in search of more adventure.

So today I'm digging through Erick's ideas. So many bulbs but I know the one I'm looking for. I don't know what it looks like but I always know it when I see it. It's the most important bulb of all.

My eye falls on the bulb I want just as my willpower begins to run out. There it is, the idea that will fix everything. I cradle it in my arms and tiptoe to the console, where the other Emotions are watching Erick eat dinner, probably with a big scowl like always.

"Mom's nagging again." Anger grumbles, his arms crossed. "She's always nagging."

"Don't say anything stupid or she'll get mad!" Fear warns them.

"I can handle it!" Disgust shoots back. "Just avoid the topics that make her mad."

"But why bother when everything makes her mad?" Anger snarls. "We might as well give her a piece of our mind."

"And get grounded?" Fear grabs Anger's arm and clutches tightly. I rub my upper arm, remembering all the times he's grabbed mine like that. "You've gotta think-"

"I'm done thinking!" Anger stomps forward.

"Ugh, he has to wear this uniform to work, why's she telling him he looks stupid in it?" Disgust huffs. "If she hates it so much, she can help him get a better job."

"Come on, let me control for a bit!" Anger reaches for the console but Disgust slaps his hand away.

I clear my throat so they know I'm here. All four of them stare at me as if they've never seen me before. Have I been hiding away that long?

"I found something." I say as I hold up the idea bulb. "And I was thinking we could try it."

"Here she goes again." Anger seethes. "Look, he doesn't want to do it now so there's no point in-"

"Hang on a second." Sadness says, speaking up at last. He shuffles over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You know it's not time yet."

I speak up. "I was just thinking that if we screw this in, we could-"

"I know." Sadness gently tugs the bulb out of my hands. "It would make him happy. But he's not done feeling sad."

I huff a bit. "But how long? It's been a year and a half!"

"His sister died." Sadness pats me on the shoulder reassuringly. "And right now, I haven't been able to finish my job." he stares at the bulb wistfully. "I want him to be happy as much as you, Joy."

I hang my head. "I haven't been able to do anything in a long time."

"I know." Sadness sighs. "You will. But I want to wait to use this." he looks at the bulb longingly. "I want to make sure it's the perfect moment. You know that if we use it at the wrong time, he may not get you back for even longer."

"He needs this!" I cry out, my fists balled at my sides. "He's so lonely!"

"I agree." Sadness hands me the bulb as tenderly as I was holding it moments before. "Keep it safe, Joy. The time will come. But now Erick needs to cope with these feelings and this could make them worse."

I nod my head in agreement. Done wrong, this idea could backfire badly. I stare out at the open space where Friendship Island had once floated. Next to it is the disintegrating Family Island. Erick's brother and sister keep it going but bits and pieces of it break off and fall into the darkness beneath. I look out just in time to see Erick storm into the village outside. Anger rubs his hands together in a satisfied manner.

"Erick!"

We all tense. Cliff!

"Buddy!"

"Not him again!" Anger growls, his head sparking. "We already deal with him all day at work!"

"He's not so bad!" I counter him with a shrug. "Chatty perhaps but he's funny."

"Humph." Anger taps his foot. "I'll get rid of him."

"No!" I bolt forward and knock Anger out of the way. "I can handle this!"

"Joy!" Fear says in a shaky voice. "What are you doing?"

"If we can't have Annie," I say as confidently as I can, "we can have Cliff."

"You just like him because he smiles a lot." Disgust groans.

"No, I want Erick to stop feeling lonely." I reply as I work on Erick's reactions to Cliff's words. "I'm tired of him being sad all the time.

They all watch me press buttons and flip switches until it happens. A joyful sound fills the room.

Erick is laughing!

I stare at the bulb in my hand as I continue my work. "I haven't forgotten about you." I whisper. "When the time is right, I will use you."

The bulb remains in my hands until my work is done. As I walk away from the console, I polish it until it sparkles.

"You and Annie are going to be friends again, Erick." I say to the bulb. "I promise. But not until you're ready. Not until you know how to be truly happy again."

I watch Fear and Sadness control the console as Erick's mother shouts at him. I hear the door slamming and Erick collapsing into bed. Another day is over.

I stare at the day's memories and smile at the sole yellow memory in a sea of blue, green, red, and purple. A new friend.

Maybe I am needed after all.

Even so, I'm keeping this bulb safe because Erick and Annie need to be friends again. And I eye the button on the far right of the console, the red one with so many warning labels, it looks like the back of a pill bottle. If Annie and Erick are friends and I press that button, there's no going back.

But a part of me knows that that's what he needs. So I curl up next to the idea Erick isn't ready to use and wait for Erick to awaken and start a new day.

I've never written anything in present tense before so I quite like this. I think it works well. It's not perfect but hey, if you want more, I can definitely do more. I know it's not strictly Hiccstrid parenting related but oh well.

Don't forget to review!

~KateMarie999