This story is dedicated to CoconutCinnamon, whose art and ideas have been a continuing source of inspiration. She and I thought up the plot of this tale together.

THIS IS A SHIP FIC. PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL TO THOSE WHO MAY NOT SHARE YOUR TASTES IN SHIPPING. Cuz in the end, we all love the same movie. OwO Let's just have fun together! If it's not your cup of tea, you may want to refrain from reading this one. Out of Place is shipfree and is being worked on currently, and the upcoming Always By My Side will be free of ships as well.

As always, I do ask for your feedback. Please be sure to leave a review! This is what allows me to know what you enjoy and what I can improve on, and it allows me to grow as an author. It also reminds me that there are people out there who enjoy my tales, and so inspires me to write even more!

I'll post the chapters about every week or so, depending on how this goes. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Opportunity Arises

Brimming with excitement, he anxiously waited for tomorrow.

Fear layed in his bed with his gaze toward the ceiling, a goofy sort of smile plastered on his face. He was holding back the urge to giggle uncontrollably in his excitement, knowing that the noise could stir his slumbering roommate. But the longer he sat there, the stronger that urge grew, as the events of the day before continued to replay endlessly in his thoughts.

"It's definitely strep throat." Sadness droned. "We'll be bed-bound for at least two days, and feeling the effects for almost a week..."

Fear, sitting on one of the brightly colored control-room couches, felt himself crack a smile at the diagnosis. He wasn't happy that Riley was sick, but grateful for the opportunity the illness had presented him. Having dealt with strep several times in the past, he had learned that this condition, though painful, was ultimately harmless. He had no reason to fear for Riley's safety. He had already done his job; he had aroused concern in Riley so she would alert her parents and be taken to a doctor. This illness no longer required his presence at the console.

This was just the opportunity he had been waiting for. Being sick with strep, he knew, meant that the emotions importance in Riley would change. Sadness would be using the console a whole lot more. She would dwell on the lousy feeling and on the fun activities they would be missing out on due to illness. And she would call for sympathy as Riley required it. Anger would be making more of an appearance as well. With every painful swallow, his fury would build, as he questioned what they had done to deserve this agony. He would cause a frustrated Riley to realize just how unfair it was that she had gotten sick while her friends got to enjoy their health.

But perhaps most important during this time was Disgust. From the green phlegm expelled in Riley's coughing fits to the terrible tasting medicine her doctor had prescribed; there was a whole lot to be disgusted by. The green emotion would find herself working overtime for the next week, as the general feeling of lousiness would cause Riley to find even herself gross.

Best of all, Fear knew, was that he and Joy would be the least needed of the bunch. Though she had sometimes argued, there was nothing about sickness to be happy about. And worrying was to be saved for the truly dangerous diseases. For the first time in a while, he and his happy colleague could take a much needed break.

Fear smiled even wider at the thought. Just Fear and Joy, free to wander as they pleased. What could be better?

The two had only recently confessed feelings for each other. It had planted the seed of a new relationship. But due to their hectic schedules, they hadn't had a lot of opportunity to allow that relationship to grow. Sure, they did what they could. Fear was slowly growing used to Joy taking his hand at seemingly random intervals during the day, so they could just enjoy the feeling of each others warmth through their clasped hands. And Joy loved that every morning she could count on Fear to have set out a warm cup of herbal tea just for her. But this was finally the opportunity Fear had been waiting for to do something big, something to truly allow the relationship to blossom.

The nervous emotion glanced behind himself at Joy, who stood at the large windows of headquarters and gazed at the assortment of colorful islands beyond. She rocked back and forth on her heels, humming some pop song they had heard on the radio a few days before. Even from afar, Fear could see that energetic sparkle in her deep blue eyes, which he had always believed emphasized her overall beauty. He breathed a long sigh as she stared into the lands beyond. Apparently she hadn't realized the glorious opportunity they had just been handed by this illness. It was now up to Fear to point it out.

Fear turned back around and closed his huge, bright eyes. It would take all of his courage to be able to pitch his idea to Joy. But courage was far from abundant in the lanky emotion. He was composed of the raw feeling of anxiety; of terror. He would have to rely on sheer willpower to overcome these feelings that came so naturally. While his mind tried to race with thoughts of failure and rejection, he instead forced his concentration on what he had to gain. Being with Joy; that meant everything in the world to him. If he had a chance to strengthen their budding bond, he was going to take it, no matter how scared he was.

Besides, there was one thing he didn't have to worry about. It wasn't just the rejection that scared him, but the thought of his three other coworkers mocking laughter in response. That was a scenario he knew he couldn't handle. But as he opened his eyes again, he could clearly see that Sadness, Anger, and Disgust were all still planted at the console, guiding Riley through an evening with strep. They were far too engaged in their work to pay any mind to the chatter of the emotions behind them.

This was his chance.

Fear quickly rose to his feet. It was now or never. Trying to maintain a confident outward appearance, he puffed out his scrawny chest, turned on his heels, and headed for the golden emotion by the window.

The nearer he got, the more he could feel the blood rushing to his face, settling as a bright blush on his cheeks. He could feel his knees begin to quiver, even threatening to give out. He could feel his hands begin to sweat as his body temperature soared. And though his strides had steadily shrunken in size, he kept up the forward momentum, refusing to let this opportunity pass him by.

By the time he had made it to the rear of the control room, his body had begun to shake so violently that Joy could hear his very bones rattling. She turned to the source of the sound, her infinitely blue eyes settling on Fear's awkward, gap toothed grin.

It wasn't hard to tell he had something on his mind. His lavender face had turned a brilliant magenta, sweat poured from his brow, and his knees began to turn in on themselves as he came to a halt. Joy smiled. It was just too precious to her. His shy reaction to her very presence; it always reassured her that his feelings for her were pure and genuine. Whenever he got this way, she always wanted to embrace him in a strong armed hug or gush about how cute he was being. But she knew that any reaction too strong would only scare the timid creature off. She had to be gentle in her return of affection, keeping the progress of their strengthening bond slow, or risk ending the relationship prematurely.

So even though he couldn't have made it more obvious that he had come to her for a specific reason, she acted oblivious.

"Hey, Fear!" She grinned, twirling back around to face the window. "Aren't the islands amazing in the evening light?"

Fear hiccuped a nervous chuckle as he turned his blushing face to the world beyond the glass. "Y-yeah..." He nodded. "They really are..."

Joy, keeping her gaze locked on the islands, waited excitedly for Fear to continue. She was dying to know what he had to say, and keeping herself calm was quite a challenge.

But it didn't take long for Fear to take the bait.

"So... Joy..." He mumbled, his eyes moving to his own buckled, shivering knees. "I w-wanted to... to ask you something."

The golden emotion turned back around slowly with a smile. "What's up?" She chirped.

Fear swallowed hard. This was the hard part. He knew his feelings for her were strong. He knew that he loved her with all of his heart. But how she felt about him? That was a mystery. He knew she liked him, but was always worried it could just be a passing fancy. He didn't want to come on too strong without knowing that she felt the same way. He didn't want to ask too much of their newfound relationship and find himself being rejected. This in particular was a bit of a larger step forward. He silently prayed that she would be willing to take that step with him.

"Well..." He began, looking off into the distance, unable to look her in the eyes while he spoke. "I just... I thought that... since Riley's got strep a-and we're really not gonna be... very needed for a while... I was wondering if you maybe wanted to spend tomorrow out in Imagination Land... with me..?"

Joy put her hands to her hips and cocked her head to the side with a quizzical expression.

It wasn't the reaction Fear had hoped for. "It-it could be really fun!" He tried desperately to pitch his case. "There's all sorts of rides and... and parts of theme parks Riley's visited a-and there's even a beach we could go... go hang out at..."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Joy smiled.

Fear immediately felt his body go cold. "I-I.. I just... I was... I..." His mouth stumbled over every syllable and the blood began to drain from his face.

Joy, worried that perhaps the word 'date' had been too strong, immediately back peddled. "I mean, I would love to go to imagination land, Fear!" She giggled, once again trying her hardest to keep her excitement contained.

Fear's antennae fell nearly straight down. "You-you would...?" He stuttered. "Y-you would! Okay!" His antennae instantly perked back up into an excited curl as the realization of acceptance sunk in. "Then, we'll leave early tomorrow! After Riley is awake and settled in for the day!"

Joy beamed a bright smile. "Sounds great!" She laughed. "I can't wait!"

"Neither can I..." Fear thought to himself, still focused on the dark ceiling above. That urge to giggle had returned at full strength, and Fear had to use all of his concentration to repress it. He just was so thrilled that Joy had accepted his invitation. Tomorrow was all about Joy and himself.

Brimming with excitement, he anxiously waited for tomorrow.