#usercoffeenate

The two of them were watching from a safe distance while Joe and Nicky introduced Quynh to a handful of new guns. It had started as a group effort, since all of them were pretty much experts, but Andy was leading the event. At least, she had been, until it became obvious she was unusually nervous, and forgetting some key safety lessons. Nile had pulled her apart while the others went on with the lesson.

“Look! She’s holding two guns now, she’s not ready…”

Nile reached out in time to grab Andy’s arm and pulled back to her side. She narrowed her eyes at the older woman, “Wait… Are you… worried?” she asked, “About Quynh? Your wife who happens to be immortal and apparently stronger than the whole damn ocean?”

Andy rolled her eyes and looked deeply impatient. She looked back once at Quynh having the time of her life skipping over the safety regulations, and answered in a whisper, “Listen, she… she’s died more time than all of us combined,” she voice shook with pain and guilt, but her nerves were somehow amusing, even endearing, “She could… she’ll probably be the next to lose her immortality. I’m trying to avoid finding out too soon, okay?”

Nile tried everything she could to hold back her smile but it was a lost battle, “Aww, you’re worried about her!”

“Nile!” Andy groaned, covered her face with her hands and took a moment to gather herself, “You don’t get it,” she insisted, “Her life’s at risk and she doesn’t even notice. She’s lost all sense of self-preservation. She’s acting as dumb as if she just found out she’s immortal.”

“Hey, I didn’t…” the younger woman tried to defend herself but a stern look from Andy got her to surrender, “Okay, fine, I shot myself, jumped off a building, tried poison a couple of times, sue me. I had to see what happened!”

“You literally didn’t have to, but you’re missing the point,” Andy continued, “I taught her how to drive, and now I can’t even let her get in a car by herself because I just know she wants to make one of them explode.”

“Can I go with her?”

“Shut up,” Andy interrupted her, “She’s electrocuted herself about five times now, and I no longer believe her when she tells me she doesn’t understand how it works. She’s too smart for that.”

“Oh yeah,” Nile agreed, looking at something behind Andy, “She is a genius, she’s holding three guns now.”

“What?!”

“Andy, relax! I’m kidding, she’s still holding just two guns,” Nile gently placed her hands on the other woman’s shoulders and turned her back around to face her, “She still looks pretty immortal to me. You’re not though, and you’re about to give yourself a heart attack.”

Andy looked down and took a deep breath. When she looked up she smiled at Nile, “What do you know, you cut off one of your fingers the other day.”