I Fell For My Nemesis

Keith eventually fell into an uneasy sleep after the information overload from talking to Frostine but he did get some excellent news when he woke up. The email he had been waiting for arrived!

He had officially been accepted as a volunteer firefighter and needed to start his training this weekend. He debated about telling Joss over text before deciding he would rather see her reaction in person. Maybe he could suggest they do something to celebrate. 

Even if he did like her, he couldn't ruin the dynamic they had. It was normal to celebrate things with friends, wasn't it? 

The morning seemed to drag on before he was able to tell her. He rollerbladed into the lobby of her office in excitement and found she was leaning against a counter looking rather pensive. 

"Joss, I did it! I got in!" 

She looked up at the sound of her name and a brilliant smile spread across her face. "That's great, Keith! Congratulations. When do you start?"

"Bright and early Saturday morning. They sent me an informational packet. I have a lot to do but everyone has to start somewhere, right? I'm looking forward to learning the ropes," he said happily. "This deserves a celebration and it's no fun doing it alone. Care to join me?"

"Absolutely! What do you want to do?"

"Not sure yet. I'll figure something out. My weekends will probably be even busier than before so it'll have to be a weeknight. Is that alright?"

"My weekends are busy too so that works great," Joss reassured him. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

Keith could tell she was. His normally nonchalant friend was showing enthusiasm on his behalf. That was a pretty big deal. But he wasn't allowed to read too much into it. She was just being nice. It didn't mean she liked him. 

Even if she did like him back, what would it matter? He was in no position to get into a relationship with someone right now. Possibly ever.

Why was Red Dynamo's advice about feeling her out coming to mind? There wasn't a point!

"Anyway, here's your food," Keith said. "I'll text you later!" 

Jocelyn nodded with another smile. "I'll be waiting for it. Have a good rest of your day."

"You too!" 

How could he not have a good rest of his day when things were finally looking up for him? He was actually working toward something instead of drifting along aimlessly. Nothing could detract from that even if he was also distracted by thoughts of Joss. 

What had she been thinking about so intently before he arrived? It was like a switch had been flipped and she suddenly went from being super serious to the way she normally was around him. 

Keith was oddly reminded of Frostine. That expression was very similar to the one his often stoic work friend made. 

That wasn't their only similarity either. They had the same coloring. Chocolate brown hair and gray eyes. Joss's hair was always down while Frostine's was always braided back though. And Joss's eyes were much less cold and sharp. 

He had thought his two friends were completely different in terms of personality but he had seen a much more human side of Frostine lately. Especially last night when she proved for the second time in a few weeks that she had emotions just like anyone else. 

What was Frostine going to do without him being around as often? Would she be okay? 

Keith never thought he would worry about such a thing—worry about her at all because she always seemed so capable and like she didn't need anyone—but yesterday had changed things. She seemed to be every bit as alone as he was. 

He really hoped that her friend was able to help her out even if she couldn't talk to them about whatever was bothering her. Everybody needed some sort of outlet, didn't they? Even someone as generally composed as Frostine. Maybe a lack of being able to talk to anybody about what was bothering her was why she broke down yesterday. 

She bounced back quickly enough but what could have bothered her enough to make her cry? He had never seen anything like that from her in four years of working together. 

Keith sighed. This was exactly why superheroes didn't become friends. They didn't—couldn't—know each other for real so getting attached only caused problems. Worrying about Frostine wouldn't do anything for him but it wasn't like he could stop it. 

He cared about what happened to her. He hadn't thought he would until everything that happened recently. He never had before. 

It used to be that they met up, fought crime, occasionally ate food together in between, and then went home and didn't think of each other until they met again. He had been able to compartmentalize. He saw her more often than he saw any other heroes but she was still just another one of them. 

After yesterday though…he couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her. Why she didn't have anyone she could rely on. Why couldn't she rely on her friend? Wasn't that the whole point of friendship? 

Keith continued wondering about this on and off all day until he saw Frostine again. She executed a beautiful aerial kick while simultaneously freezing two different targets. 

Her movements were seamless and he was as impressed as always. She truly was quite a hero. 

"Need any help?" he asked as he knocked one of the bad guys off his feet with a jet of water akin to a power wash. 

"If you could blast those guys' guns away I would appreciate it."

"You got it!" 

They managed to round everyone up in less than fifteen minutes, collected all their guns, and froze them in place until the police arrived to cuff them and take them to the station. All in a night's work. 

Keith eyed Frostine critically after that. She certainly seemed to be doing fine. She was handling that group pretty well on her own before he arrived. Her focus was impeccable as always, as if yesterday hadn't happened. 

Was she really okay though? Or was she just acting like it? How often had something major been going on with her that he had never known about? 

It wasn't that Frostine didn't have emotions. It was that she was talented at hiding them behind a nearly impenetrable wall of ice. He couldn't unlearn that. Now he would always wonder if she was actually okay or felt even more alone than he did with no one to turn to. 

"Are you alright?" Keith asked. 

Something flashed through Frostine's eyes briefly but she put on a reassuring smile. "As alright as I can be. Don't worry about me, Delta. Yesterday was a fluke."

A fluke or a buildup that had been happening for a long time and finally spilled over? He wasn't sure he believed her. But it wasn't his place to pry. She already said she couldn't talk to him about it. 

"If you're sure," he said hesitantly. 

Frostine's reply was resolute. "I am. Let's get to work. I'm sure there are more people like this lurking around somewhere."

And there were. There always were. In a city as big as New York there would always be plenty of crazy people with an agenda running around at any given time. Slow nights weren't really a thing when you were a hero. 

That was something he looked forward to being a firefighter. When things were slow for them they got paid to hang around waiting for a call. That sounded great!

Every minute they took for themselves was a minute something bad was happening they couldn't stop. But they weren't responsible for everyone. They saved who they could and didn't dwell on who they couldn't. If they did they would drown.

Doing something was better than doing nothing. Keith may not have as pure of motivations as Frostine but he had still helped a lot of people over the years. That was something worth being proud of. 

And he would be able to continue helping others while simultaneously helping himself. Really, his switched focus in life was a win-win. 

No one would truly miss Delta but Frostine. He wished there was a way they could stay in touch so they would know the other was okay but the only one he could think of was setting up anonymous email accounts and messaging each other occasionally there. 

That was so dumb. Would she even go for something like that just for the sake of his peace of mind? 

Keith would have immediately thought no before but now that he knew she was more sentimental than she let on she might not shoot the idea down right off the bat. It wouldn't hurt to ask when he got closer to officially retiring. 

He didn't want to lose all contact with her permanently.. Once he hung up the suit forever he wouldn't even be able to say hi if he saw her out and about because she wouldn't know it was him.