I Fell For My Nemesis

Chapter 138 - Your Worst Pun Yet

Keith sighed and pulled away because the position he was crouching in wasn't the most comfortable and they shouldn't do much with Joss's injury. His heart was racing so it was better not to make that worse. That last thing he needed right now was to have a heart attack. 

"I really, really like you, Josstine," he said to lighten the mood. 

Joss snorted before dissolving into peals of laughter. It took her quite a while to get a hold of herself before she grinned at him with an indulgent shake of her head. 

"That might just be your worst pun yet." 

"There are no truly good puns; only truly bad ones. But that's what makes them good. So really, I think that would make this my best pun yet," Keith said as he innocently shrugged and held his hands up. 

"I don't even have an argument for that. You win. I never realized my hero name and my real one could even be combined in such a way." 

"Jocelyn and Frostine don't seem terribly similar at first glance but they do both have the 'oss' sound and that's what made it work. But punsters are always on the lookout for things like that. It's practically our life's work."

"I'm sure it is. How did you pick your hero name, anyway? Delta and Keith are about as different as can be," Joss noted. 

"I looked up a list of words related to water and it was the least lame. What about you?"

"I did something very similar for ice. Apparently, Frostine is the name of a children's board game character with ice powers. I found it ironic since she was a queen and everyone always called me Ice Queen without even knowing about my powers."

That was definitely a lot more in depth than his choice had been. And a lot more sad. He felt a prickle of guilt because he had been the same way before he knew her better. He had thought Frostine was an ice queen because she never once showed her emotions around him until recently. 

Which made a lot of sense in hindsight. She had been stressed about messing things up with him without realizing that wasn't possible. 

"That is ironic," Keith agreed lamely. "Also a way more interesting reason for picking a name than mine."

"Reasons don't have to be interesting to be valid," Joss said with a shrug. 

"I suppose that's true."

He didn't know what to say after that. What did they do now? They just had an emotionally charged conversation that ended on a strange note because of his constant need to keep things lighthearted. 

First, Keith needed to stretch his legs. He had been crouching for quite a while. He straightened and moved to the nearby patch of wall he liked to lean against. 

"So, uh, what do you plan on doing with your stars again?"

He remembered what she had said when he first showed up before all of this happened though it took him a minute to get there because his mind was still a bit muddled from their kiss. He had never kissed anyone before and he would really like to kiss her again but didn't think that was the best idea at the moment. 

They had time. Neither of them wanted to go anywhere so he would get his chance under better circumstances.

"I was going to get a cheap paint set and paint them different colors before putting them in a clear jar and using them as decoration. I thought it might liven this place up a little since I'm going to be stuck in it for the foreseeable future," Joss said, gracefully allowing him to change the subject without judgment. 

"My office is colorful because that's what kids like but I didn't see the need to do that here. But if colors can make them feel better maybe they can make me feel better too. It gives me something to do other than throw my origami creations out so I figured why not?"

"That makes sense. Maybe you could make one of those for me too when you're done," Keith suggested. 

"You would want one?"

"Sure! Who wouldn't want to have something their favorite person made just for them?"

Joss's smile was so wide it threatened to split her face. "Great! I would be honored to make you a paper star jar. That rhymed, didn't it?"

"Yes it did. Well done," Keith replied with a grin of his own. 

How could he have ever thought she was an overly serious know-it-all? That wasn't the woman he knew in the slightest. Though he supposed back when they only interacted as Frostine and Delta that he hadn't really known her. 

Joss wasn't dull or boring at all. She had a lighthearted side that complemented his perfectly. 

She didn't have a problem with him joking around too much. She relied on it. And he didn't have a problem with her relative lack of opinion because she still had fascinating things to say. 

They could make this work. He had to believe that. That the only person who had ever wanted him would be able to stay by his side forever. He was absolutely determined. Nothing was going to mess with his relationship with her. Not a single thing!

Keith couldn't stay for long after that because he needed to get home and sleep so he could wake up early for his training the next day. He watched her make more paper stars while he made a few shuriken himself and then tucked her into bed as he had been doing. The only difference was that this time he caressed her face and kissed her forehead. 

"Goodnight, Joss. I'll bring you those jars and paints tomorrow."

Joss nodded, a slight blush on her face. "Okay. Thanks. Goodnight, Keith. I'll see you then."

He headed out feeling like he was on top of the world. He had no idea what the future held for them but as long as he was able to be with her he could handle anything. And he did know they were capable of working together well after years of having each other's backs in battle. That was a point in favor of this relationship. 

Although…what were they? They never quite put a label on what they were trying to do even though they had kissed and sort of expressed their feelings for each other.

Keith didn't want to pressure her while she was recovering, especially since he was functioning as her caretaker. It was why he hadn't planned on bringing up his feelings in the first place but that sort of went out the window when he found out she already knew. 

It didn't really matter what they were right now anyway as long as they were together. He cared about her presence more than he cared about whatever else there might be to it. He just wanted to see her. 

So see her he did. As she was recovering he kissed her most days but it was never making out because he doubted she was up for that with how physically miserable she was. Especially once she started physical therapy trying to get some motion in her leg back. 

She had it three times a week after work and as a result she was able to wait around for him to get off work so they could go over to her place together. She had a hard time getting around on her crutches and he preferred being there to help if necessary with how crowded the subway station was. Not exactly crutches-friendly. 

When his volunteer fire department training ended and he only had three-hour shifts once a week he was able to spend more time with her so she got a folding chair to put her leg up on and let him have her desk chair. That way they were able to sit next to each other to watch TV while she was still largely unable to move around. 

Joss often leaned against his shoulder when she got tired of doing origami or playing phone games and though it was strange at first Keith quickly grew used to it. Having someone else so close to you was more comforting than he would have imagined. 

She had finished a few shows she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about when he introduced her to his favorite one. A sitcom he thought she would like because their senses of humor were similar. 

Sure enough, she laughed multiple times per episode and seemed to like this one better than all of the others. She even told him halfway through the first season that she thought it might be her favorite show. That was gratifying. 

Watching her find things she liked was slow-going but that wasn't the first time it had happened. She enjoyed origami more than he thought she would but it was strictly an activity for when she watched TV. When she wasn't watching TV she liked to paint.

Painting her origami creations was only the beginning. She found it relaxing and wanted to learn how to paint something for real so she started with some cheap paint by numbers kits. 

Once she was recovered and could move around more easily she planned to sign up for a class, claiming that someone told her that classes after work would be a good way to keep herself busy. He had absolutely no idea who she heard that from since he was her only friend but he wasn't complaining.. If it helped her find things she liked he was all for it.