I Fell For My Nemesis

For once, things had been going surprisingly well for Keith. He was seeing more of his favorite person, Frostine had lightened up and made his hero work much more enjoyable than usual, and his training was coming along. 

He still hadn't figured out what (if anything) to do about his newly realized feelings for Joss but he had time. She wasn't going anywhere anytime soon based on what he had seen so far. 

It was hard to tell if she returned his feelings or not because she acted the same way she had since early in their friendship aside from seeming somewhat distracted and broody when she thought he wasn't looking. He didn't think that had anything to do with him though. 

Keith asked her at one point if everything was okay and she said she had some work stuff going on and couldn't talk about it. He was inclined to believe her due to the nature of her job. 

So when she asked him for help with something he was more than a little shocked. She didn't seem like the type of person to ask for help with anything. He knew it had to be serious so he called her since it was faster than texting. 

She broke her leg! Why hadn't she told him? Wasn't that the sort of thing you told your best friend about? 

Keith didn't want to keep her waiting so he changed into his costume to get that dry shampoo and make it closer to her apartment building before putting his regular clothes back on top of it. Her voice had been worn out on the phone so she probably really needed her sleep. 

When he arrived at the apartment number she had given him he thought there had to be some sort of mistake. The door was squished in between two others and looked more like a utility closet than anything. There was a doorbell though. 

He rang it and a minute later a very disheveled Joss answered the door. She was obviously in pain with a light sheen of sweat on her bare face, her hair was messier than he had ever seen it, and she was wearing a pair of long-sleeved blue and black striped pajamas with one of the legs rolled up over a bulky knee brace. 

In true Joss fashion, she didn't seem the slightest bit self-conscious about him seeing her like this. That made him think she didn't like him because people usually wanted to look their best in front of the people they liked but he also knew that was simply how she was. It was hard to tell. 

"Hey," she said dully. "Thanks for coming."

She adjusted her crutches and stood aside to let him in but he still had to squeeze. THIS was an APARTMENT?! 

Keith had never seen such a small living space before. Even those tiny home videos on the internet were palatial compared to this. He was pretty sure his shared bedroom was about the same size. 

He recalled that she mentioned something about micro-studios being cheaper when he mentioned wanting his own apartment. But she didn't say anything about living in one herself. 

Her comment about needing help with her mattress made a lot more sense now. It was pretty high up. He didn't know what he had been thinking—maybe a bunkbed with a desk under it like they had in one of his foster homes—but it definitely hadn't been this. 

"Is there even space on the floor for your mattress?" Keith asked doubtfully. 

Joss's face fell. She hadn't thought of that. Her mattress was a full and the floor probably only had space for a twin. 

"I…don't know."

"Let me climb up there and see," he said before doing that. 

Keith looked between the loft and the floor several times before shaking his head. "There's no way. You need an air mattress if you want to sleep on the floor. I'll go get you one so hang tight, okay?"

"But—"

"I'll be back!" 

He had already jogged out the door before she could say anything else. He knew she was going to protest further if he didn't go and she needed her sleep. This was the least he could do for his only friend when she was having a hard time. 

Keith got lucky. He managed to find somewhere selling air mattresses less than thirty minutes before the store closed. He got one that had an electric pump to make things easier for her and hurried back to her apartment. 

Joss answered the door slowly and rubbed her eyes. He had only just noticed they were puffy and a bit red. Had she been crying earlier? Was she in that much pain or was it something else too?

His heart ached. He wished there was more he could do for her than just run out and get things. He wanted to help with whatever the underlying thing bothering her was too. 

It was distressing seeing her like this. He had never seen her upset before. She was always so unflappable, which was another trait she shared with Frostine. Stupid! He shouldn't be thinking about that right now. 

"How did you break your leg, anyway?" Keith asked as he plugged in the air mattress pump. 

Joss sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I hit it at a weird angle. Something so insignificant but now half my kneecap is gone and I have a long road of physical therapy ahead of me." 

"What?!" 

"Yeah. My kneecap shattered so they had to take parts of it out. I have the next week off of work but after that I still don't know what I'm going to do with myself because I'm used to being busy and that's going to have to stop."

Keith's eyes widened. That wasn't any old broken leg! Poor Joss. He couldn't even imagine how painful that was and he had gotten injured a few times as Delta. It was always much less serious though, which was a relief because he didn't have health insurance until recently. He was able to treat himself at home. 

She looked so miserable when she talked like that he couldn't resist the urge to give her a hug. "I'm so sorry, Joss. If you need anything—anything at all—don't hesitate to reach out, okay? Even if it's for something as simple as you being bored. 

"If I'm not working or getting in training hours I can come whenever you need. Don't you dare worry about bothering me. This is exactly what friends are for. Helping each other out when they need it."

"But—" she began. 

"No buts. I've got your back no matter what, alright?"

"You do? Really?"

Joss's voice sounded so vulnerable and disbelieving—which was incredibly unlike her—that Keith pulled away to look her in the eye and impress upon her how serious he was. He knew people had a hard time taking him seriously because he was always joking around but she needed to know he could be reliable when warranted. 

"Yes," he told her seriously. "Everybody needs to be able to rely on someone when they're having a hard time. It would be an honor to be that person for you."

Tears swam in her eyes and she whispered, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me for that." The air mattress was blown up so he unhooked the pump and looked around. "Do you have spare sheets and blankets anywhere? I'll set up your bed for you."

"Spare sheets are in that bin there. You can just get the blanket and pillows off my bed." 

Keith nodded and did as she said. The sheets were too big for the mattress but he could tuck the extra underneath and hope she didn't move around in her sleep too much. He ended up finding some extra blankets and balling them up as well to help her elevate her leg as she slept. 

Since she couldn't bend her knee at all he had to help her get down onto the air mattress. Once she was there he helped situate her leg on top of the spare pillow and blankets so she would be as comfortable as possible before tucking her in. 

Despite how tired Joss looked it was oddly adorable seeing her all snuggled up under the covers like that. His heart stupidly skipped a beat. 

This was not the time for that. He was here to help her as her friend. He couldn't burden her with his feelings right now. That would be a terrible thing to do to someone who had so much else on her plate. 

Keith smiled at her before turning out the light on his way out the door. "Goodnight, Joss. I hope you're able to get the sleep you need. I'll come by after work tomorrow and bring you dinner if you're okay with waiting that long to eat."

"That's fine," she replied softly. "Thanks, Keith. Really."

"Anytime." 

He flipped the light switch and locked the door on his way out. He really hoped she was going to be okay. No matter what happened, he was going to be there with her as she went through this. 

Keith never had the benefit of anyone being there for him when he was having a hard time.. He was determined not to let that happen to Joss as long as he was around.