WooOOO! Here it is, Folks! The long awaited end of the tale! I hope it's as good as you were expecting!

BUT! Keep your eyes peeled! There may be an epilogue coming at some point! AND don't forget the credits chapter! It will include a few bonus things as well as special shoutouts and thank yous! And finally, a deleted scene will be being posted on my p a tr eo n sometime soon! So please consider donating! It would really really REALLY help so much!

ALSO. The next story is gonna be that Sequel Prequel of Always by my Side, which will also be available to those who donate!

As always, please be sure to let me know what ya thought with a review! I'm really hoping to pick up more support so I can increase my writing speed soon! Check my tumblr or my p a tr eo n for news! I'll see ya when I see ya!

Chapter 10: What She Deserves

By the time Fear had marched his way to the front of the game booth, his face had become a ghastly white. The sheer amount of importance he now placed in this game of skill was only just sinking in. He knew that if these carnival games were anything like the ones Riley had played in real life, they were specifically designed to make the majority of players fail. And yet he still entrusted such a life changing choice to the results of his performance. It would prove to him if the penguin plushie had been a genuine sign from some unseen force that he should fight for his relationship, or a mere coincidence, meaning his break up decision would be final.

As the indigo mind worker continued to amuse himself throwing a baseball above his head and catching it again over and over, he noticed the approaching emotion out of the corner of his eye. Happy to have the monotony of the day broken, he produced a sleepy sort of smile on his mellow face and leaned onto the booths counter, baseball still in hand. His calm demeanor was so sharply contrasted by Fear's tense expression and posture as the emotion neared the booths front, with Joy standing a good three feet behind him.

"Hey, there." The colorful blob mumbled in an upbeat yet relaxed manner as he repeated his well rehearsed speech. "Want to try your luck? Knock down the glasses and get a prize. Three tries per play."

Fear quickly glanced at the golden tufted penguin now hanging above his head, feeling his heart nearly skip a beat. "How much?" He redirected his eyes back to the employee.

The mindworker breathed an airy chuckle. "Nothing in this park costs anything." He grinned. "You're just limited to one play per day. Why not give it a shot?"

The games worker rolled the ball from his glittering hands toward Fear's. The shivering emotion studied the sphere carefully, then brought his eyes up to the precisely arranged trio of bottles at the rear of the tent. It looked as though the baseball had more than enough mass needed to topple the mini pyramid. The trick would be making sure both of the bottom supports were knocked from their solid perch. He would have to hit the very center of the stack to ensure all three glasses hit the floor.

Fear took a moment to look to the golden emotion behind him. Her face had lit up, no doubt from puzzling out Fear's plan to win her a plushie prize. Her fists, clenched tightly, were held just beneath her sparkling eyes, as if trying to decide whether or not to obscure her vision due to being simply too excited to watch. Fear's face fell. He silently prayed with all his being that he would at long last be able to impress her.

Finally, the emotion turned back to the glass stack, plucking the ball from the booths table. This was it. Three chances to prove himself. He held the precious sphere tightly in his lavender hands, readying his aim and preparing to fire.

With a sharp grunt, Fear threw the first ball with all his might. As he felt the rough stitches escape his fingers, he shut his eyes tight, adding an extra bit of vertical spin that he hadn't planned on. He opened his eyes just in time to see his first shot impact the padded rear of the game booth just above the stack of bottles, missing his target entirely.

"Ooh... Good throw, bad aim." The mind worker evaluated, shaking his head. Rather than retrieve the ball just thrown, he pulled a replacement from some unseen storage beneath the counter and rolled it towards Fear as he had before. "Two more shots. Go ahead and try again."

Fear felt his posture tense as he picked up the second ball. With one throw lost, he could feel the chances of his relationship enduring slipping away from him. He had foolishly closed his eyes in his anxiety and botched his aim. He lowered his eyebrows; now wasn't the time to be making mistakes.

From behind him, he could hear that Joy's breathing had picked up speed. She was completely enthralled by the thrill and anticipation of the whole event, loving every exciting second. "You can do it, Fear!" She chirped, trying to motivate her colleague, the task of retrieving fresh water now absent from her thoughts.

Focusing again on the exact center of the stack, Fear channeled his energy into his arm and hurled the second ball just as hard as the first. Though he fought to keep his sights on target, his eyes instinctively shut as soon as the object left his grip, his body attempting to prevent any potential debris from harming his huge, bright eyes. He snapped them back open as fast as he could, hearing an audible clink echo in the booth. This shot had been closer; it impacted the bottom right glass at its edge, pushing the bottle and shaking the whole pyramid but still failing to bring even one glass down.

"Ooh!" The mind worker winced, now emotionally invested in the players success. "Almost! But you gotta knock em down with one shot." He shuffled towards the stool and, with his glittering hands sparkling on the glossy surfaces, rearranged the bottles into a perfect tower once more. "One more try. Go ahead!"

As a third ball rolled along the counter towards his tense hands, Fear took the time to take in a deep soothing breath. It had come down to the wire. The baseball now resting before him would be the ultimate decider. Should he stay with Joy, or did she deserve so much more? This last throw would provide the answer. Fear quickly shook his hands in an attempt to loosen his muscles. He couldn't allow himself to lose focus and start panicking. Not yet.

After what felt like an eternity of preparation, Fear removed the ball from where it lay, holding it tightly in his trembling grip. His cheering section of one had fallen silent; Joy didn't want to add unnecessary stress when the air had already become so thick with Fear's aura of anxiety. Not that it mattered, though, as Fear's nerves were already as frayed as possible. Joy was unaware of just how important this throw had become.

Not wanting to prolong the inevitable, Fear took precise aim and, with his eyes open wide, hurled the ball from his hand. He had managed to keep his vision locked on target, and the ball flew towards the dead center of the stack.

But while this throw had exactly the aim he had needed, it had cost him his throwing power. This ball had been tossed far slower than the previous two. So while the aim was precise and calculated, the ball simply didn't have the speed. It impacted the dead weight of the bottle tower, shoving the whole thing backwards a good few inches but only managing a shiver from the glasses. The top bottle eventually shaking loose and toppling over seemed like fates lousy attempt at a consolation prize.

Both the mind worker within the booth and the emotion a few steps away were readying their statements of understanding when they were interrupted by a mournful howl. Fear threw his hands in the air and cried out to the heavens in pain and misery.

He had failed.

Joy, startled by such a strong reaction to such a simple game, attempted to approach her life long companion to offer whatever support she could, but was instead pushed away in a somewhat rough sort of shove as Fear trudged past, making his way to one of the picnic tables placed between the rows of booths and stands. He collapsed atop a wooden bench and wailed, burying his face in his limp arms stretched across the table.

For a while, Joy couldn't bring herself to move, paralyzed by utter shock and confusion. She couldn't understand what had just happened. Fear had failed at games of skill such as this one plenty of times in his life, but never acted as crushed and as heartbroken as he now was. Each of his piercing cries struck Joy like a dagger; it pained her so much to see him this upset. Breaking her paralysis, she slowly crept towards the lavender creature, seating herself on the opposite bench of the table where he lay.

"Fear..." She reached out a hand to offer a comforting pat, but hesitated. "It's alright. You're gonna be okay..."

"No! I'm not!" Fear snapped back, lifting his head and revealing his bloodshot eyes. "I couldn't do it! I failed!"

"It was just a silly little game-"

"It wasn't just the game!" Fear pounded a fist on the table. "It was everything! I wanted to make this day perfect for you and I failed! I couldn't do one thing right! I ruined what should've been one of the best days of your life and I... I feel horrible for letting you down."

Though Joy made attempts to interject, Fear allowed no room for her to speak. "I'm an embarrassment!" He wailed. "I passed out on the roller coaster, I nearly drowned at the beach, and now I couldn't even knock some bottles off of a stupid stool!" He slammed his face back to the table, wrapping his lanky arms around his head. "And you... You don't deserve that. You deserve someone who isn't afraid. Someone who doesn't embarrass you by passing out all the time. Someone who isn't so cowardly that they can't even put together a compliment. Someone strong and good looking and... And just... Someone who isn't me..."

As his ranting dissolved into silent weeping, Joy sat as still as stone with her eyes open wide and her mouth slightly ajar, trying to take it all in. These feelings which he had hidden from her had come as such a shock, but had also explained so much.

"Fear." She sighed, feeling a monumental weight off her shoulders. "All this time... You were worried about me?"

Confused by the question, Fear slowly lifted his head and stared blankly into Joy's glittering sapphire eyes.

"I thought..." Joy quietly laughed. "I thought you were mad at me. I thought you were upset because I ruined this fun date you had planned. I pushed you too hard and asked too much from you. I should've known better, but I just got over excited. I saw how upset you were and thought that it had been my fault, and I felt terrible for it.

"Fear, you haven't embarrassed me once today. In fact, this has been one of the best days of my life. You actually rode the roller coaster with me, we got to sit at such a pretty beach and swim in the beautiful surf. And I... I like the way you get so nervous that you can hardly speak. It just proves how sincere you are. And passing out after the ride? It proved how much it scared you, but how you were willing to try it anyway just to make me happy. You risked your life trying to save me at the beach. Sure, it turned out that there wasn't any threat, but it still shows just far you're willing to go for me. If anything, this outing has... it's proved just how much you love me. And... I realize just how much I love you too."

Fear sat up straight with his antennae skyward, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. "You.. were worried about me?" He mumbled. "Y-you didn't do anything wrong! I... I kind of like when you push me out of my comfort zone. Sure, it's scary... REALLY scary, but I get to experience things with you that I never would have otherwise. I wasn't mad at you at all! I was just mad at myself. All I wanted to do was prove myself to you. And... And I guess... I..."

Joy placed a hand to his shoulder, instantly feeling his muscles react. "You already have proved yourself." She smiled sweetly. "I don't need some macho man with big muscles and flowing hair. And I don't expect you to be something you're not. I want to be in this relationship because I like you just the way you are. And the nervousness? Well, that just... kind of makes you even cuter."

A terribly goofy grin found its way to Fear's face, accompanied by a red heat in his cheeks and an uncontrollable giggling from his throat. Though he couldn't see it, his antennae had twisted in on itself, forming a clear heart shape in response to his thoughts. He pressed his hands to his face and turned away in an effort to hide from Joy. She liked him! All this time he spent trying to prove himself to Joy, and it turned out that he already had. She loved him for who he was, not who he tried to be. His heart pounded in his chest as he repeated the thought in his mind.

Joy was relieved to see Fear smiling again. And his flustered reaction to her statement only cemented what she had stated earlier. Nothing made Joy happier than to see how happy she could make Fear.

An idea hit Joy in an instant. She leapt from the table and marched back to the booth that they had stood in front of just moments before. Fear, surprised and bewildered as he came out of his embarrassed trance, followed after her, confused as to what she had in mind.

Joy slammed her hands on the game stands counter, thoroughly startling the indigo mind worker who had resumed quietly playing with a ball.

"One play per day, right?" Joy smiled, reaching out a golden hand expectantly. "I want to give it a shot!"

"Uh, yeah, no problem." The startled worker handed the baseball to the emotion before him. "Three tries. Gotta knock over the whole stack."

The employee had barely finished his sentence when Joy fired the ball like a rocket into the bottle stack, sending all three glasses flying into the padded rear of the tent in a chorus of clanking. She smirked and folded her arms, proud of herself, as the worker simply stood aghast at the pile of bottles now on the ground.

"Woah!" He chuckled, putting back the replacement baseball he had grabbed for Joy's second try. "You knocked em over in one shot! That means you get to pick any prize from the tent! What can I grab for ya?"

Joy's glittering eyes drifted to the stuffed animals dangling from the colorful roof. It took only a second for her to decide. "I'll take the penguin!" She grinned with a gentle blush on her cheeks. "It's for my boyfriend."

The mind worker happily unhooked the antarctic bird from the ceiling and handed it over to Joy. The golden emotion quickly accepted the plushie, then excitedly bolted back towards Fear, who was frozen a few feet behind her. Still attempting to clear the shock from his mind, he suddenly found the giant stuffed toy being thrust into his arms by his giggling colleague. His awe filled eyes fell immediately to its plush face, petting one of it's golden eyebrows with one hand.

"The... The penguin..?" He mumbled. "You got me... the penguin..?"

Joy only shrugged. "Yeah. I thought he was cute!" She chuckled. "Besides, he kind of reminds me of someone. With that long body and cute little stubby legs, and even his big fuzzy eyebrows! Reminds me of a certain adorable someone I know."

The anxious emotion lowered his brow in thought, though still refusing to take his gaze off the stuffed toy. He eyed the creature carefully. "Who..? Anger..?"

Joy couldn't help but laugh. "No! It's you, silly!"

Fear's face immediately softened as he realized the compliment he had received. He couldn't believe it. Out of the dozens of plushies that filled the booth, Joy had unwittingly chosen the one that had stood out in Fear's mind. This was it; this was the sign. There was no doubt about it, they were meant to be together. Fear felt a tear attempt to escape his bright eyes as he gripped the stuffed creature in a tight hug, feeling beyond happy and relieved.

"I love it, Joy." He smiled.

Not missing a beat, Joy skipped a few steps down the path. "Well, come on, slow poke!" She laughed. "We've got a date to finish!"

Fear, his nerves at ease, nodded and chased after her, walking just along side. Absentmindedly, Joy reached out a hand and took Fear's in her own, continuing down the path with their hands interlocked. She could feel that though Fear was still his nervous self, he had managed to calm down significantly now that so many needless worries had been lifted from his thoughts. Joy, too, felt so much lighter, and knew the rest of the day would be nothing short of amazing.

Joy took a quick glance at Fear and giggled at the over sized bird now obscuring his face. A thought suddenly dawned on her, and her entire face lit up. "Hey, now that I think about it, that's a Rockhopper penguin!" She noted. "They are so cute! Do you know how they impress their mates?"

Fear blushed a deep red. "Not a clue." He lied.