Disclaimer: I do not own Inside Out

Alright, so here's the backstory to this fic and one of the reasons why I haven't posted any new stories in nearly a year. I met a girl. I fell in love with girl. And I lost girl. That was six months ago and I'm still not over it. This is the story of that break up from the point of view of the characters in my head.

Day 1

"Can't we go home yet?" Disgust asked. "We have a migraine. Let's just call it."

"Aw come on, the work day's just started!" said Joy. She was proud and she had reason to be. Riley had grown into a healthy, well-rounded adult and the new job and relationship were proof. At work, Joy usually took the helm. "Migraine, schmigraine. Let's go," she said. "We have patients to see!"

Riley grabbed her supplies and headed from her office to the waiting area. It looked like about ten patients were there. "Welcome, everyone," she said. "It's time for group, so follow me."

"Alright gang, time for business," said Joy, taking her seat in the center console. "Digust?"

"That migraine's getting closer," said Disgust, pointing out the window. The storm clouds were getting dark, for early in the day.

"We'll check in after group," said Joy. "But we need all hands. This is important."

"Fine," said Disgust, and she took her seat at the first seat from the left.

For group, Riley planned a "check-in", and went about asking the patients how they had been doing; general updates, notable instances where their coping skills were put to the test- that kind of thing.

One patient, a girl named Chelsea talked about how she felt so alone in her new group home because the residents were significantly older than her. "I'm still new to the system and how it all works," she was saying, "and it's scary to think that one day I'll be their age but the problems won't be getting any better."

Seated at Joy's left, Sadness leaned forward in her chair. Leaning forward was always a sign she was listening intently. "Poor girl," she muttered under her breath.

Sadness had really stepped up in her role of helping Riley become more empathetic, and the counseling position made her a strong candidate for co-pilot. "What if it never gets better?" she wondered aloud. This was the sort of thing Joy used to shut down. Not anymore.

"Validation?" Joy asked. Sadness nodded and flipped the switch, never taking her eyes off of Chelsea.

"The future is something I think everyone worries about," said Riley. "It's not always predictable and there's only so much you can do to prepare. In the meantime, there are stressors in the here and now that have to take priority. These stressors are actually a blessing in disguise, because these are usually things we can do something about. Focus on the here and now, right?"

Chelsea nodded.

"Well handled," said Joy, offering Sadness a high-five (Sadness halfheartedly met it).

Working with patients in the mental health clinic wasn't without risks though and it was Fear's time to shine during those moments. "Does she look receptive to it?" asked Fear. He was immediately to Joy's right, primed and ready to spot danger, especially when dealing in a serious profession like healthcare. "What if she thinks we're phonies?"

"There's nothing phony about validation," said Sadness, leaning over Joy in a rare display of assertion.

"The last thing these patients want to hear is 'don't worry about it right now'," snapped Anger, sitting in the last chair at the end.

"For our initial check in, it's met the patient objectives," said Joy. "She's new to the group, but still she opened up and she was able to identify a positive coping skill for it. We'll have plenty of time to delve into dealing with those kind of stressors."

And they did. The group only improved from there. Riley had had one of the best counselors as a clinical supervisor, after all. The patients generally felt safe enough to express themselves in group and Riley mindfully and diligently helped them deal with their problems.

"Excellent work today you guys," she said as she stood up. "I believe Mary's got the next group in about an hour. The provided lunch is turkey, so I think you're in luck."

The patients thanked her and filed out of the room.

"The headache's gotten much worse," said Disgust. The others turned and looked. Most of Riley's mind was shrouded in darkness and Career Island looked like it was taking a heavy downpour.

"I hate working with a migraine," grumbled Anger.

"We can't leave work early?" Fear said.

"I think we'll have to," said Joy. "Quick, let's take some pills and get that paperwork documented.

They all groaned at that. "I know, I know," Joy said. "But look, it's for the patients, right?"

"Can we text Aaron?" asked Sadness.

"Oh yeah!" said Joy.

Riley reached into her pocket and eager dug out her smart phone. There was a missed call from dad on the lockscreen.

"Call him back from the office," said Joy.

Once Riley opened messages, she texted Aaron. "Hey baby. I hope you're having a better day than me. I got a migraine. I might knock off early."

By then she'd made it to her office. She took a couple of migraine pills with water before she collapsed into her chair and opened her laptop.

"Disgust, Fear, you're up," said Joy. Those two always handled the boring part of Riley's job. They were the only ones who could be objective about the patients' behaviors. Dr. Franklin really only needed enough information to make clerical decisions about discharge and med planning. Joy, Sadness, and Anger would color it too much. Career Island trudged along, all the while taking the downpour.

"It'll ease up the second we're out of the building, you know," said Anger.

"That's the nature of migraines," said Joy. "Ooh, just think about the hot bath we can take when we get home."

They all nodded.

"Has Aaron texted back yet?" asked Sadness, rushing back to the console. "Sorry, this will only take a minute," she said. Disgust and Anger didn't seem to mind.

Riley looked down at the phone screen. No text from Aaron, but the missed call from Dad was still there.

"Let's go ahead and call him back," said Fear. "It might be important."

Riley dialed and put the phone on speaker so she could continue working on the notes.

"Hello?" her dad answered.

"Hey," she said. "Sorry I missed your call. I'm at work."

"That's ok," he said. There was some noise in the background like he was somewhere busy.

"What is that?" she asked.

There was silence on the other end, and then Riley heard her mom's voice. "Your father had an accident," she said. "He cut his fingers working in the shed and we're in the emergency room now."

"Accident?" said Fear.

"Emergency room?" said Disgust.

"Joy!" Sadness called. "Something's happened!" Joy and Anger ran to the console too, the migraine temporarily forgotten.

"It's nothing serious," Riley heard her father's voice in the background.

"Is it serious?" she asked her mom.

"The cuts are pretty deep," she said. "All the fingers on his left hand are going to need stitches."

Anger cursed. "Why was he working with his left hand?" The others shushed him.

"It's just the fingertips," Riley's mom was saying. "He's definitely not going to lose any entire fingers."

"What does she mean by 'entire' fingers?" Fear demanded.

"We should go see them," said Sadness, and she dialed up empathy on the console.

"Do you want me to drive up this weekend to help you out?" Riley asked.

"No, no," came her dad's voice, drowned out by "Only if you want to," from the mom.

"We're supposed to see Aaron this weekend, remember?" said Disgust.

"Let me know," said Riley.

"We will, monkey," said her mom. "Oh, we gotta go. The doctor's here. Love you!" and she hung up.

"I need coffee," said Anger, punching the big button marked "CAFFEINE" in duct tape.

"I need coffee," muttered Riley.

Saving her files, she walked out of the office to the coffee machine.

"Anger, be cool," cautioned Joy.

He only mumbled in response.

At the coffee machine in the breakroom, Riley ran into Mary, her co-worker. "Hi," said Mary, brightly. "How was group?"

"Group was good," said Riley. "But I just got a call from my dad."

"Good," said Joy. "Talking is good."

"I know what I'm doing," said Anger. They often joked that Anger was the one who learned the most from Riley getting a getting in counseling.

"Apparently he's in the emergency room for nearly cutting his fingers off!" Riley poured her coffee in a paper cup as Mary digested the news.

"Oh, no!" she said. "What happened?"

"He was out working in his shed, which you're not supposed to do when you're sixty-five years old!"

"Easy," Joy cautioned.

"You're right," said Anger. "Just got a little carried away. Let's get this coffee down the hatch."

"I hope he's ok," Mary was saying.

"He will be," said Riley. "I might go see them tomorrow. They live in San Francisco."

The coffee and talking with Mary seemed to satiate Anger enough to allow Fear and Disgust to finish the notes. All the while, the migraine storm was now hailing all over Career Island and Family Island. Joy and Sadness worked quickly to display the memories from group so that Fear and Disgust could document as accurately as possible.

"We're done!" Disgust announced, after about half an hour.

"Great work!" said Joy. "That migraine's getting worse, so let's text Bob and get out of here."

Riley texted Bob, the admin for behavioral health at the clinic that she had a migraine and needed to leave work early. Bob was a cool boss. He replied less than a minute later and wished Riley well.

"Finally!" said Disgust as Riley packed her things and headed out the door. The walk to her car was pretty uneventful and Fear took the lead making sure Riley drove safe.

Then, her phone buzzed.

"Don't check it!" said Fear. "We're driving!"

"It might be Aaron!" said Joy. She couldn't help but get excited when the phone buzzed. "Come on, Fear, live a little!"

Without taking her eyes off the road, Riley lifted her phone enough to see the screen. Aaron had sent her a video message.

"Don't you dare play it!" said Fear.

"There's no cars around us," said Joy. "It'll be fine. Just drive."

Riley pressed play on the video. Aaron was also driving in his car, singing along to the radio in a high-pitched, overly dramatic voice.

"Aw, we love him," said Joy.

Riley laughed and put the phone down.

They finally reached Riley's apartment and Riley couldn't wait to get inside. She pet the dog, Stevie, and started drawing herself a hot bath.

"Shame we had to leave work early," said Joy.

"Yeah, but that migraine's getting really bad," said Disgust. "I'm amazed we made it home safe. Look at it."

She wasn't wrong. The migraine was now encompassing all over the islands. Rain and hail were surely lashing at the memories in long-term storage.

"Let's call down there to check everything's ok," said Fear and he did.

"We're working to keep everything covered up and safe!" came the voice from the receiver. "But this is a bad one! There's no sugarcoating it."

There was a flash of lightning and a deep rumble of thunder that seemed to shake the whole headquarters. "Look!" said Disgust.

Riley had sunk to her knees on the bathroom tile, squeezing her eyes shut and clutching at her hair. "We haven't had one this bad since we were little," said Sadness, trembling.

"Get her into the tub, before she gets sick!" yelled Fear.

Very slowly, Riley undressed and sank into the steaming bath. Almost immediately the hail seemed to break.

"That was way too close," said Disgust.

Riley's migraines were a constant battle for the crew. When she was little, they would rock headquarters every week or so, essentially sending the entire mind into lockdown. Since growing up, they'd mostly gotten better. They learned quickly that plenty of meds, rest, and hydration helped. But they were all thinking what Sadness had said out loud. This one was definitely one of the bad ones.

"The important thing is that Career Island is still functioning," said Joy. "We may have left early, but our patients got what they needed."

"What about dad's fingers?" asked Fear. "What about Aaron?"

"We'll deal with that tomorrow," said Joy.

By then, headquarters had started to fill with a pleasant steam. "Let's get into our robes and enjoy the steam session," said Joy. "How about it?"

The others agreed, and sat back. Riley enjoyed her bath for about another hour, and the storm started to ease up. "So far so good," said Joy.

Then Riley's phone buzzed again. Riley opened her eyes. The storm rumbled and Anger said, "Let's turn the lights off." Riley stood up and reached across the bathroom counter to flick the switch, then grabbed her phone.

"It's Aaron!" said Joy.

Riley answered and lay back down in the bathtub. "Hey, baby. Are you still at work?"

"Yeah, just sitting here. Not too busy." Aaron worked at an electronics store out of the city. They had been dating just over two months. Joy especially was proud of the find. Since college, Riley had had a bit of difficulty with her love life. A lot of ghosting, a lot of being stood up. A couple of first and second dates here and there but nothing substantial. She'd never had a real adult relationship.

Then, she'd met Aaron on a dating app. He lived outside the city, but was willing to drive to see her. They'd had so much fun, going out to dinner and the movies. They were comfortable around each other and their schedules worked out so occasionally she could spend the night at his place and he could spend the night with her. They were even planning a trip together for Valentine's Day. It was the first time Riley had had a significant other who truly made her feel loved and appreciated. Sure it was still early, but she was optimistic and excited to see where it went.

"How are you feeling?" Aaron asked.

Riley shrugged. "Honestly not good. I had to leave work early for my migraine."

"I'm sorry," said Aaron and it sounded like he meant it. "I wish I could be there with you. Cuddle up with you and love on you."

"I do too," said Riley.

Joy and Sadness both gushed inside Riley's head. They loved talking on the phone with Aaron. The past two months had been chock full of late night phone conversations. There weren't many people Riley was willing to lose hours of sleep over.

"Oh, babe," said Aaron. "What'd you think of my awful singing?" he laughed.

Riley laughed too. "It was pretty bad, wasn't it. It sounded like you strained your vocal chords."

Aaron suddenly stopped laughing on the other end.

"Wow," he said. "That was kind of mean."

"Oh no," said Fear, jumping up in his seat at the console. "We shouldn't have said that."

"Why?" asked Joy. "He asked about his awful singing?"

"We're not supposed to agree with him!" said Disgust.

"What do we say?" asked Joy.

Fear gasped and pressed a button.

"I'm sorry," said Riley. "I thought you sent it as a joke."

"You know how self-conscious I am about that," said Aaron. "I can't believe you'd say that."

"Self conscious?" asked Anger. "What does that even mean?"

"We love listening to his voice," said Joy, dumbfounded. "Remember he was singing in the shower the other day? We stopped at the door to listen!"

"We gotta smooth this over, or we're gonna lose him!" said Fear. "He's a sensitive guy!" He started pushing buttons erratically.

"Baby, I really didn't mean anything by it," said Riley. "I liked hearing you!"

"Yeah, okay," said Aaron. "Look, I'm at work. I'll talk to you later."

And he hung up.

"No!" shouted fear, and he reached for the lever to redial.

"Calm down!" said Disgust. By now the steam had cleared from the room. "We don't want to bring the migraine back." They looked out the window. The clouds were pretty dark still, but at least the rain and hail had stopped.

"What do we do?" asked Sadness. "He sounded upset."

"Don't do anything," said Fear. The others looked at him. "Look, we know we're dating a sensitive guy. He doesn't have a lot of confidence. He doesn't have that kind of perspective. Let's give him some space and we'll talk to him tonight when he's off work. And we get to see him tomorrow!"

"Agreed," said Joy, catching on.

"I don't want him to be mad at us," said Sadness.

"He won't be," said Joy. "Remember our first big fight? How he went out partying with his friends and didn't answer his phone all the next day? We went nuts wondering where he was, remember? And that fight lasted three days because he kept avoiding the subject. But we learned how to pacify him. We do the same thing here. Give him some space. Tell him we were insensitive and that we're sorry. In the meantime, let's check on dad."

Riley got out of the tub and dried off, her thoughts still on Aaron. The recall tubes were working overtime these days. She had made so many wonderful memories with Aaron in such a short time. Sitting in the movie theater throwing popcorn at each other. Their first kiss after he dropped her off from their date. Eating breakfast at the diner the first time he'd spent the night.

But all those paled compared to the core memory. None of them had really been expecting it. Riley and Aaron were walking Stevie around the apartment complex just as the sun was setting. Arm in arm, Riley had looked over at Aaron and he had been looking at her, his face glowing with a pinched smile. It was picturesque. Aaron hadn't said it until a few weeks later, but that was the moment that Riley started to believe he loved her.

Ultimately it was she who had said, "I love you," first. It was about a month after they had been dating. She cooked dinner for him as he was on his way over but it had failed spectacularly. She'd tried to make spaghetti and meatballs but the meatballs burnt in the over and when she dropped spaghetti on the floor, Stevie and eaten everything up. Anger went into a rage, complaining about how the night was ruined. Fear started panicking, sure that Aaron was going to be upset.

None of it mattered. Aaron ordered Chinese food and they ate at her little kitchen table, perfectly content. Later, sitting on the sofa Aaron noticed her looking at him and said what.

"Here it is," said Joy and she thrust the control forward.

"I love you," Riley said.

Aaron seemed to beam and he kissed her. He hadn't said it back right away, and Riley didn't expect him too. He'd been hurt pretty bad in his last relationship, and she wasn't looking to push anything. He had said it though, in his own time later on, and Riley had never been happier.

Once Riley was dressed in her pajamas and lounged on the sofa she called her dad.

"Hey, dad," she said. "How's the hand?"

"I got a lot of stitches in my fingers. Doesn't hurt too bad though- they gave me strong pain meds. Mostly I'm embarrassed. Basic power tool safety- never take your eyes off anything spinning. It was the table saw that did it."

"Gross," said Disgust.

Riley blanched. "I'm glad you're doing ok. Do you think you and mom will be ok this weekend? I can drive up if you need me to."

"Only if you want to," said her dad. "I think we'll be fine. How about you? Are you off work?"

"Yeah, I actually left early. I got another migraine. A bad one. Way worse than usual, actually."

"Take your meds?"

"Yeah," said Riley. "And I took a hot bath when I got home. Feeling nice and relaxed now. But I wanted to ask you something. I need advice on Aaron."

Her dad harrumphed. He didn't have an especially high opinion of Aaron, but he'd never even met him. Aaron had been resistant to meet her family and hadn't yet introduced Riley to his parents either. Both agreed it was too soon, although Riley was hoping to fix that before Valentine's Day.

"He sent me this video of him singing, and I thought it was a joke because he sounded pretty bad. But when I told him so, he got all offended."

"Oh, no," came her mother's voice and there was a beat while her father handed over the phone. "Honey, he was fishing for compliments. Let me tell you something about boys. They like to have their ego stroked."

Riley laughed. "Yeah, okay. I'll make it up to him somehow. He doesn't stay upset long. I'll call him later."

"See?" said Joy. "Nothing to worry about."

Later on that evening, Riley was relaxing with a hot dinner on the couch. She turned on a superhero movie and settled in. The headache was all but gone and it was getting close to Aaron's closing time and he would probably call soon.

It didn't take long after closing. Riley answered the phone and muted the superhero movie. This was pretty normal. A lot of times, Riley just watched the movie with the subtitles on while Aaron was on the phone. They didn't even have to be talking about anything. A lot of times they would just listen to each other.

"Alrighty, showtime," said Joy.

"Hey, baby," she said when she answered.

"Hey, baby," he said back.

"And placate," said Fear.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to offend you. I just… spoke without thinking I guess."

"It's not a big deal," said Aaron.

"Safe!" shouted Fear and the rest of them cheered.

"Are you driving home?" Riley asked.

"No," said Aaron. "I just got home. I'm in bed."

"In bed?" asked Anger.

"Are you feeling okay?" Riley asked.

Aaron was quiet for a moment before he said. "No."

"Something's wrong," said Sadness and Fear took control of the console.

"Let's be smart about this," he said.

"I've just been thinking about us," said Aaron. "And I don't think you like me."

"Heartrate's increasing," said Fear. "This is bad."

"What are you talking about?" asked Riley.

Aaron sighed heavily and was silent for a long time. Then he said, "I did something bad."

"No!" shouted Fear. He fell back in his chair, his hands left the console. "He cheated."

"We don't know that," said Joy, although she was nervous.

"Maybe it was his ex," said Sadness.

"Ugh, or that gross guy she works with!" said Disgust.

"Calm down, we don't know anything," said Joy. "Quick, hand check!" Everyone's hands went up. This was something they implemented after Riley got the core memory from crying in class. Anytime something bad happened, no one took control.

Still, there was a deep rumbling from the window. They all turned to look at it. Love Island was trembling.

"Core memory check in," said Joy. "One!"

"Two!" said Sadness.

Fear was three, but he said nothing. "Fear?" asked Joy. "What's going on."

Fear was trembling almost as bad as Love Island was. "I have the urge to touch the core memory. Just like Sadness did."

"If that memory turns fearful, we'll lose Love Island!" Sadness wailed.

"We don't touch the memory yet," said Joy. "But Fear, you've gotta take this. Go ahead."

Fear took a heavy sigh then sat at control of the console again. "Let's just tread really cautiously."

"We have to save Love Island," said Sadness. "That's got to be priority one, whatever happens right?"

"Agreed," said Joy. "This is the best relationship Riley's ever had. And we all knew Aaron had issues. Let's hear what he has to say and work through it, whatever it is."

Everyone nodded.

"Ok," Riley said.

Aaron wasn't talking.

"What should we do?" asked Disgust.

"He needs a little probing," said Sadness. "He's too ashamed to admit it."

"Carefully," said Fear, and he pushed a joystick forward slowly.

"Did something happen with your ex?" asked Riley.

"No," said Aaron.

"Ok," said Riley.

"Then what?" asked Disgust.

"That day he went out with his friends," said Sadness.

"Probe again," said Joy.

Fear pressed the joystick forward just a little bit once again.

"Did something happen the night you went out with your friends?"

Aaron was quiet for a while.

Then he answered. "Yes."

Little by little the story came out. One of the friends he was out with had brought his older sister. They were at the club dancing. Eventually they went home together. The whole next day Aaron stayed at his friends' house, avoiding the phone, not knowing what to do or how to handle it.

"We need answers," said Sadness and she started pressing buttons on the console. Fear slipped aside.

"When did you decide to lie to me?" asked Riley.

"That night, when I finally called you back," Aaron admitted. "I'm so sorry, Riley. I feel awful about this."

"Oh, he feels awful?" demanded Anger and he stamped a button before anyone could stop him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. That whole night with her must've just been terrible for you," snapped Riley.

Aaron didn't say anything to that.

"This is getting out of hand," said Fear. "If this keeps up, we're gonna say something we regret."

"Agreed," said Joy. "Let's hang up the phone." She flipped a switch quickly.

"I got to go," said Riley.

She heard Aaron let out a sob. "Please don't hang up."

"Wait!" said Sadness.

"This is dangerous territory!" said Fear.

Riley didn't hang up the phone. "Ok," she said.

"He's looking for reassurance that we're not mad," said Sadness.

"We are mad!" said Anger.

"Ok, but we can't be mad forever, right?" said Joy.

"We said we'd save the relationship, right?" said Sadness. "He wants to talk about this. We have to talk about this."

"That night was nearly a month ago!" said Fear. "He had all the time in the world to talk about this. We're the ones needing reassurance that everything's going to be okay, not him!"

"If we don't show him that we're committed to moving forward as a couple, we will lose him," said Sadness.

Everyone looked at Joy. She thought for a long time.

"He's waiting for us to say something," said Sadness.

"I know, I know," said Joy. Aaron was someone who made Riley happy, right? When adults have a problem with the relationship, they resolve it, right? They talk about it?

"Fear, we're going with Sadness on this one," she said.

Fear sighed. "Ok," he said.

"Anger, you need to stay back too," said Disgust.

"Fine," grumbled Anger.

Sadness and Joy both took the console and started moving the conversation into less confrontational territory. Once it got there, Joy even tried to get Aaron to laugh and he did.

"How can you be so good to me?" Aaron asked.

"It's my choice, right?" said Riley.

They all checked Love Island. It wasn't trembling, but something about it seemed dim.

"It's not completely powered down," said Fear. "That's encouraging. Maybe you were right Sadness."

"Good teamwork," said Joy.

"Look, it's getting late," said Riley. "I'll drive out to see you tomorrow after you get off work, right?"

"Yeah," said Aaron.

"Okay," said Riley. "Then I'll see you then."

"Okay," said Aaron. "Good night."

The call ended and Riley fell back into bed.

"And she's asleep," said Joy. They looked at the memory bank. A lot of yellow from work. Some fear and anger around the time of dad's emergency room visit. Disgust from the migraine. Then of course all the sadness, anger, disgust, and fear from the conversation. "We made it through. We'll solve this tomorrow. Let's file all these." She pulled the lever and the memory balls all rolled away.

"I'm on dream duty," said Disgust.

"Good night!" said Joy.

Sadness was about to go to her quarters when she saw Fear looking at the core memories.

"You okay?" she asked, walking up to him.

Fear nodded. "The urge is still there. I feel kinda bad. I remember when you went to touch it, all I thought is why would she do something so dangerous, and now…"

Sadness nodded. "I remember. It felt so weird. This is one of those moments that will go on to define Riley and the relationship."

"Do you think we can save the relationship?" asked Fear.

"Yes," said Sadness.

Fear laughed. "You're more confident than me."

"We need to be strong. For Riley."

"For Riley," agreed Fear. They hugged and Fear actually started to feel a little bit better.

They both went to bed.