I Fell For My Nemesis

Jocelyn tilted her head. "You seriously want to hug me to make me feel better?"

"Why not?" Delta asked with a shrug. "I've heard it works." 

"You've only heard it works?"

"I don't really have anyone to hug either, you know. Maybe it will make both of us feel better. We won't know unless we test it."

She cracked a smile. His tone was matter-of-fact but that was definitely the sort of thing Keith would say. Just far more dramatically. Maybe his true self was shining through or maybe she genuinely was going crazy. 

Either way, she wasn't opposed to a hug. Especially since she knew it was coming from a place of concern. Delta cared about her enough to want to cheer her up. No one else did so she wasn't about to turn down a sign that he cared. 

"Your logic is solid. Go on and hug me then."

Delta looked at her funny. "It's kind of hard if we're both sitting down."

"Right. Sorry."

"You really don't have much experience with hugs, do you? Come on." He stood and held his arms out, waiting for her. 

He wasn't wrong. She didn't get hugs growing up and there was no reason for her to have them later either so she didn't exactly know what she was doing. Seeing other people do it and doing it yourself was different. She wasn't quite sure how close to get or where to put her arms. 

Jocelyn stepped closer to him and felt his arms go around her, wrapping hers awkwardly around his back. This felt strange. She wasn't used to being touched. But she couldn't deny that the pressure was somewhat reassuring. 

She suddenly felt rather overwhelmed. No one had ever hugged her when she was upset before. Why did she feel like crying again? What was wrong with her? 

If Delta was Keith that meant he cared about her in two different contexts. That really got to her. Until recently nobody had cared about her even in one. How was she supposed to feel about that? Especially if he truly did like her as a more than a friend. 

Jocelyn tightened her hold on his back as she felt the tears well up again. She didn't want to let him see a second time. 

It was stupid that she was getting emotional. Stupid and unlike her. No one would accuse her of being an ice queen right now. If anyone else saw her like this they would probably laugh. 

Delta gently rubbed her back. "It's okay, Frosty. Whatever's going on, you'll figure it out. I believe in you. So believe in yourself a little too."

She let out a strangled laugh. Was it even possible to believe in herself in this situation? She had absolutely no idea what she was doing or how to proceed. She wasn't good at things like this. Navigating relationships outside of a professional setting was foreign to her. 

It hit her a moment later that he almost always called her Frosty. It had started about six months after they met, around the time they began working together on a somewhat regular basis. 

Keith had started calling her Joss after he ran into her at his second job since they met. If they were the same person was this a thing he did when he was comfortable with others? Keith considered her a friend. Did Delta think that way too?

"Hey, Delta…do you like me?" Jocelyn asked curiously. 

Delta pulled away instantly and looked at her like she was crazy. "Did you not hear me say I liked someone else earlier?! Just because I hugged you doesn't mean—"

"I meant do you think of me as a friend."

"Oh. Geez, don't give me a heart attack! I guess so, for lack of a better term. We have each other's backs. That's sort of what friends do. We're just…friends who don't know each other all that well. Work friends."

Work friends. Jocelyn had never had one of those before. She wouldn't count any of her colleagues as work friends but couldn't deny that her relationship with Delta was different than the one she shared with her fellow therapists or heroes. 

"I see. That makes sense. But why did you react so strongly to that?"

Delta rubbed his arm and wouldn't look at her. "Ah, it's something stupid Red Dynamo said the other day. I almost got smashed by a car and he said you would give him grief forever if anything happened to me on his watch because you like me best out of everyone. I guess I was worried for a second there that you asked that because you liked me. Like-liked me. I told you it was stupid. But you don't, right?" 

Jocelyn frowned. Red Dynamo and Delta had talked about her? She couldn't deny being curious about the rest of that conversation…and why Red Dynamo thought that. He wasn't entirely wrong though. 

She did like Delta best out of all of the heroes she knew. It hadn't started out that way. He had been an annoying rookie when they met but he quickly proved how useful he could be in a fight. He managed to save her life at one point and that was when she no longer begrudged his desire to tag along with her and learn the ropes. 

"No," she said blankly. 

Delta seemed relieved. "Oh, good. That would make things awkward since we see each other a lot. Though we'll probably be seeing each other less once I start working towards my retirement. Do you have anyone you like?"

Jocelyn immediately thought of Keith, Delta, and his possible confession to her. She had been overwhelmed by it and unsure what to think or feel. 

She definitely couldn't afford to lose Keith. She didn't want to mess it up so she had to be careful. She needed to have all of the facts before she thought of a plan to move forward. That sort of strategic thinking had gotten her this far and likely wouldn't fail her now. 

"Not really."

"That's a yes or no question, Frosty," Delta said with a slight laugh. "Is that a 'not really' closer to 'yes' or 'no'?"

"I'm honestly not sure. I have someone I can't afford to lose as well but I'm not sure whether or not I like them. I've never thought about such a thing," Jocelyn admitted. 

"Yeah, neither had I until someone accused me of flirting with her. Now it lives in my head rent free."

She actually knew that meme because of a teenage girl who came to her for therapy. She was glad she didn't have to ask what that meant during a rather emotionally charged conversation. 

All of the blood in her body froze when a thought hit her. Keith started acting funny after he was alone with Marchella when she was in the bathroom. Had she accused him of flirting with Jocelyn? Was that why he was so embarrassed? 

Fantastic! Another coincidence. Just what she needed. 

"Have you been flirting with her?" Jocelyn asked faintly. She couldn't recall anyone flirting with her in her entire life!

"I didn't think so but the person who called me out isn't the only one who does. I like being around her…and I want to know more about her…but I know it could never go anywhere so if I was flirting it wasn't done consciously," Delta said with a sigh. 

Her heart flipped in her chest. She liked being around Keith and wanted to know more about him. Did that mean she had been flirting back all this time? She hadn't been thinking about their association going anywhere either. 

Jocelyn knew her reasons for not wanting to get into a relationship. What were his? 

"Why can't it ever go anywhere?"

"I'm not very good at the whole 'making people like me long term' thing. The closer I am to someone the more likely I am to screw it up," Delta told her, frustration tinting his tone. 

"You're more likable than you think. I've kept working with you this long, haven't I?" Jocelyn asked. 

"Yeah, but you also don't know the real me. I'm a lot more annoying outside of the suit. Actually, I've tried to pattern my hero persona after Mercury's. Everybody likes him. Why am I even telling you this? You have a real knack for getting people to talk, you know that?"

"So I've been told."

She immediately thought of a conversation she had with Keith about how she had a very penetrating gaze that could make people spill all of their secrets. It seemed that he had been right. 

"You said you're less serious outside of the suit. I don't think that makes you annoying at all. You don't need to act like Mercury to be likable. You're plenty likable on your own."

Delta shook his head. "You don't get it. I'm a total goofball. Nobody takes a class clown seriously."

A total goofball could definitely describe Keith. He really was Delta, wasn't he? 

His tone was undeniably bitter. Did he think no one liked him because he was silly? That wasn't true at all. Keith's silliness was one of the main reasons she did like him.. He brought some fun and laughter into her bland life.