Jessica
"Ava?"
"Hm?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
Jessica loosened her hold on Ava when she felt her wiggle in her arms in an attempt to turn around and face her. After several seconds of rustling, Ava seemed satisfied and settled back down, now snuggled against Jessica's front as she looked over at her. "Of course."
"What made you change your mind?"
"About what?"
"Purim," Jessica answered. "We've been married for over a decade, and have known each other for even longer, but not once have you let me help you with the preparations. And, I mean, I understand and respect that. You wanted to keep it between yourself and your family, spend some time with them alone—bake together and put on your costumes and so on. But it makes me wonder…what changed?"
Ava lowered her eyes for a few seconds before she answered. "I've been thinking…"
Jessica let the silence linger for a few moments before she spoke up again, voice gentle. "About?"
"Death."
"That's…a cheerful topic."
Ava huffed a laugh. "Yeah." She shifted again, pushing her hair back from her face and underneath her head, so she could lie more comfortably. "But more specifically, about how we are mortal and…our best friends are not."
Jessica nodded a little. "I get it." She lifted her hand and started to play with Ava's curls. "The age difference is starting to show."
Ava sighed. "We'll be getting gray and wrinkly, but they're just gonna continue to look like the day we met them. I want to spend as much time with them as possible before…" She took a breath. "They'll have to bury us, Jessie. And, I mean, I've known that. I've been aware of that all along, but I don't know. It just never truly sunk in until a few days ago, when we were hanging out with Lucy and she commented on it."
Jessica opened her mouth to reply when another thought hit her. "Do you think they'll tell them?"
"What?"
"Carter and Zyan. Do you think they'll ever tell the others about the immortality thing?"
Ava shrugged. "I don't know. Do they have a choice? They will notice eventually, and no jokes about anti-aging products is gonna allow them to play it off. If they plan on sticking around, they'll have to start planning their…coming out."
Jessica snorted, flattening her hand against Ava's hair as she slid it down to her cheek and let her thumb trace over the cheekbone. She watched Ava melt under her touch, her expression growing softer as her muscles relaxed. "You're so beautiful."
Ava smiled warmly at the compliment and leaned in for a kiss. "I love you," she whispered as she pulled back.
"I love you more."
"Lying is unattractive, Jessie."
"Good that it's the truth then."
"It's not."
"Mmh, I beg to disagree."