It's past midday by the time that Yan Sun stirs and wakes to the comfort of Jessica's embrace. She remains where she is for a moment, watching the gray skies outside and the raindrops impacting the expansive window, the muffled smattering of them faintly audible. In the stillness, she thinks about the last night. It was eventful enough that her dreams were a chaotic, rapidfire jumble of impressions, struggling to fit it all and file it away.
#SunTower – February 22, 2026
Still, it has that half-unreal distance that comes with fresh sleep now. Like maybe it was just a nightmare, washed away and forgotten on waking. That lightness won't last. The lead weight deep in her gut will reform soon enough. But she relishes the brief reprieve under the sheets. She smells the familiar scent of her old room. She feels Jessica's steady breaths against her neck, and the warmth of her arms around her. But soon enough she's
forced out of bed, doing her best not to disturb Jessica as she slips away for a long-overdue trip to the bathroom, the left of the two doors on the opposite wall sliding shut behind her with a subtle hiss.
Jessica stirs but doesn't immediately wake when Yan Sun slips out of bed, the exhaustion of the previous day leaving her in a deeper sleep than usual. She sprawls out, filling the negative space left behind by Yan Sun. It's not until the door makes noise that her eyes begin to flutter open. There's a brief moment of confusion as her eyes adjust to the unfamiliar room, her mind racing to recap everything and remind her exactly where she
is and how she got here. Unfamiliar room but not exactly an unfamiliar experience. Waking up in strange apartments after a long night, that is. Nights like those usually ended in a much less depressing manner, however. She lets out a deep breath as she's reminded of how the previous day ended and she rubs at the sleep in her eyes, her body fighting back against her attempts to sit up in the comfy bed.
The sound of the toilet flushing barely makes it through the closed bathroom door. Not long after, there's the sound of a shower running. Outside the window, a red skycar passes by. Others fly this way and that in the distance, mostly moving from one tall tower to another. The room itself is still, and the bed is very soft indeed. But never too soft. Like a perfectly calibrated cloud offering maximum comfort.
Jessica eventually wins her internal struggle and sluggishly swings her legs over the side of the bed, the texture of the floor informing her that her socks were eaten by the bed at some point during her slumber. Somehow she managed to get through the morning without shedding the rest of her clothes. Another testament to just how exhausted she must've been. The cars outside are far too much stimulus this early and her eyes drift
half-closed, her hand rising to try and massage away the approaching headache until the sound of running water announces Yan Sun's location. With a deep stretch and a yawn, she wills herself to her feet and starts towards the bathroom door.
The door opens as Jessica gets close, revealing a spacious bathroom with black tiles lining the floor and interior walls. The floor is comfortably heated. The exterior walls - there are two, this room must be in the corner of the building - are all glass much like in the main room. To the right is a gray marble counter with a sink carved into it and a mirror above it. Underneath are cabinets. Next to the sink is another door, which must lead to
the toilet, given its absence in the main part of the bathroom. Straight ahead is a tall cabinet with another mirror on the door. To the left is a high-tech hottub framed by steps leading into it, and in the far corner is a roomy shower with a clear glass enclosure that's fogged over from the steam of the shower, but the blurry shape of Yan Sun is obvious within.
Jessica comes to an abrupt stop as the door slides open, pausing like a thief caught in the act. She clearly wasn't prepared for the automation. But when it becomes obvious that she hasn't been noticed, she lets out a breath, frown overtaking her as she watches Yan Sun's shape through the fog. There's a lingering voice in the back of her mind telling her to go put on her shoes and get the hell out of here. It's not too late.
This isn't your business. This is something you want no part of. The penthouse apartment of a rich, powerful CEO of a successful company on Earth- who happens to be the father of the woman she's sleeping with- while their family sorts through tragedy is not somewhere she thought she'd be. You don't belong here. But they're just echos from another time. Because, like it or not, it is too late for
her to just leave. That line was crossed when she got on a ship and traveled half way across the galaxy with Yan Sun. No, that's not true either. It was crossed long before then. She tried to leave before. Sat at the dam all night, going over all the reasons in her head why staying was a bad idea. And yet here she is. Her gaze turns and just so happens to settle on the row of Knights of Calmare figures decorating the top shelf
beside her, causing her to roll her eyes at herself, annoyed by the smile it threatens to drag out of her. She lets out a sigh, a silent admission that she's not going anywhere, and steps into the bathroom.
Yan Sun seems lost in her own world, the nebulous figure withing the shower showing no reaction to Jessica stepping into the bathroom. Only when the door slides shut behind her does the blurry shape shift, a tentative "Jessica?" sounding from within the streaming water.
Jessica hums an, "Mm." in affirmation as she continues towards the shower, taking a moment to look over the rather luxurious bathroom during her approach. Another yawn slips out of her as she begins to peel her clothing off, seemingly having invited herself to join Yan Sun. "Nice bathroom, rich girl." she teases, her voice even more gravelly than usual as she works to shake the sleep off. She lets out a pleased hum as she unbuttons her
jeans, a night of sleeping in them having left that ring of discomfort around her waist due to them cutting into her in all the wrong ways.
Yan Sun 's clothes are, oddly, nowhere to be seen. Jessica's teasing is met with a vague noise that's almost entirely lost under the sound of the shower. The glass enclosure cracks open, Yan Sun peeking out. Her wet hair is slicked back from her face, which has been washed clean of the crustiness and smudged makeup of the previous night. There's a stony weight to her expression, but it's broken by the slight lift of one corner of her mouth
when she realizes that Jessica intends to join her. She leaves the crack in the door open as she returns to washing up.
Jessica squirms out of her clothes and leaves them in a disheveled pile on the floor, nudging them out of the way with her foot. She slips into the shower and closes the door behind her, immediately sidling up behind Yan Sun.
When inside the shower it becomes even more obvious just how big it is. Probably about the same size as their entire bathroom back at the Respite. One corner features several shelves that hold an extensive selection of bottles and cleaning implements. Multiple ceiling-mounted faucets provide a veritable rainfall of flowing water in the entirety of the enclosed space, all of it steaming hot. Another handheld showerhead is mounted on one of the
walls. The glass walls. The windows that overlook the city are, unlike the shower enclosure, not fogged up by the hot shower, instead giving a clear view of the cityscape outside, droplets on the inside repelled, only those on the exterior, from the rain outside, remaining.
Yan Sun leans back a little against Jessica, eyes closed as she just stands there, letting the water wash over her.
Jessica brings her arms around Yan Sun, her right folding across her partner's collarbones and her left slipping around her waist as she presses against her. She places a kiss against Yan Sun's shoulder, then a second against the crook of her neck. For a few moments, she merely remains in place, the water helping to wake her up. She tilts her head back, eyes closing while the water does its thing. Only once she's settled does she seem
to take in just how absurd the shower actually is, her chin coming to rest against Yan Sun's shoulder. "Is crazy that people live like this..." she muses. It doesn't sound like an accusation. Not this time. Not intentionally, at least. Just an observation. Her right hand shifts, idly reaching out to poke a finger against the glass wall, as if unsure what sort of tech is at play.
There's a faint telltale tingle against Jessica's fingertip as she reaches out to poke the glass, which is slippery as ice. An almost imperceptibly faint mass effect field to repulse the water and keep the windows clear.
Yan Sun rests her left hand on Jessica's right arm, fingers hooking loosely around it. There's no strength in her grip, the limb clearly still suffering from the electric shock of the day before. She rests her cheek against the side of her head, looking out the window. She offers a faint hum of agreement. It's absurd. She knows that. Even if to her, it's familiar. So very familiar. For most of her life, this was home. That chunk of lead
inside her weighs heavy, and she turns around, reaching past Jessica to grab a bottle of shower gel and a blue loofah. Tears go unnoticed in the stream of the shower, blending with the crowd as they fall, and that's a relief, because she doesn't have to acknowledge them.
Jessica's arms slip a bit further around Yan Sun when she turns around. She doesn't need to notice tears to understand what sort of thoughts must be going through her head. Thankfully- for both of their sakes- she's no more interested in acknowledging those thoughts than Yan Sun is. Instead she simply gives Yan Sun a small squeeze, her right arm dropping lower until she can clasp her hands together against the small of her partner's
back. Her eyes drift close once more and she gives a soft wince. "My face hurts." she mumbles quietly, as if only now noticing the dull throbs while she pokes at the backside of her piercings with her tongue.
Yan Sun lets out a snort, which sends water flying from the tip of her nose, and then sniffs, a crooked shadow of a smile gracing the corner of her mouth. "I'll get you something for the pain once we're out of the shower," she promises, her voice still hoarse, before filling up her hand with shower gel. It smells fresh, crisp, almost a little salty. Like the air by the sea. She starts to wash Jessica, lathering her up and running the loofah
gently over her skin. She's in no rush - it's a relief to have something else to focus on than her own thoughts.
Jessica gives a soft shake of her head. "Is fine." she assures. Her eyes remain closed as Yan Sun soaps her up, enjoying the attention and the warm cascade of water washing over her. After a few moments she seems to decide that maybe she should be returning the favor and tilts her head to the side, studying the shelves for something resembling shampoo. Once she's found something that fits the bill she grabs it and pops open the top,
The shower is long and luxurious, and not much is said as they take their time washing up. The walls of the shower and the steady spray of the water creates a little bubble from which the rest of the world feels separate, observed only at a distance from the windows. It's a comfortable reprieve, but it can't last forever. Eventually they step out, and warm, fluffy towels are grabbed from a rack on the wall between the toilet and the sink. Yan
Sun dries off before grabbing a light blue bathrobe from one of the cabinets and putting it on. The towel she dumps down a hatch under the towel rack.
Jessica towels herself off and follows Yan Sun's lead, discarding her towel down the indicated hatch. "Where this is going...?" she asks curiously with a nod to the hatch as she begins to recollect her clothing from the floor and untangle it since she has nothing else to wear.
Yan Sun glances towards the hatch, taking a moment to process the question. It had been something close to muscle memory to throw the wet towel down the chute, same as with the clothes she peeled off before getting in the shower. "Laundry," she explains, a bit of awkwardness entering her expression. "They'll- uh, they'll be clean by tomorrow." Her attention shifts as her gaze falls on Jessica's clothing. "You can borrow some of my clothes,"
Jessica gains a brief look of distaste as she studies the hatch for a moment longer before acknowledging Yan Sun's explanation with a dismissive hum. The offer, however, draws an amused curl at the edge of her lips and she pointedly scans over Yan Sun's body then meets her eyes, cocking an eyebrow as if there's an obvious issue with that idea.
Yan Sun shrugs. "There should be some stuff that'll fit," she insists, thinking as she leaves the bathroom, heading over to the other door next to it. "Might need to go with sweatpants for the pants, or you could keep your jeans. I can at least get you a shirt, socks, and panties?"
Jessica considers it for a moment before giving a hum of affirmation. "Fine, but I am not wearing anything lame!" she warns as she sets her own clothes aside on the bathroom counter.
Yan Sun opens the door next to the bathroom door, revealing a walk-in closet. A rack on each side holds hangers, and underneath are dressers. The far end has more hangers, but on some kind of rail that looks like it could move, which makes sense, considering it seems to continue out of the room through dark openings, into parts unknown. "Huan, could you highlight anything that'd fit Jessica?" she requests, and a moment later, holographic
indicators light up a couple of drawers and hangers, and the rail starts to move, more clothes coming into view, some of them highlighted. Yan Sun stops it on a loose-fitting t-shirt with a Knights of Calmare print. A dragon, more specifically, shooting blazing flame as it soars through the sky. She also grabs some Jessica some gray sweatpants, socks, and panties - they're undoubtedly going to be a bit tight, but certainly wearable.
The clothes she grabs to herself are similar - blue sweatpants, a plain black tee and a gray hoodie.