Jessica follows Yan Sun over to the closet, seemingly having no issues walking around an unfamiliar apartment completely in the nude which probably comes as little surprise at this point. As soon as she enters the closet her eyes widen. Her shock only seems to grow as the rail begins to move and bring more clothes their way, a feature she hadn't immediately picked up on. Yan Sun's choices go unnoticed as she merely peruses the closet,
#SunTower – February 26, 2026
silently scrutinizing Yan Sun's wardrobe. A wardrobe that likely consists of more clothing than Jessica has owned her entire life. A thoughtful frown crosses her features as she examines a shirt further down the rail.
The wardrobe is extensive, to say the least. Some of the clothes match what she brought with her to Aite. Weathered jeans with haphazard bits and bobs, tops with tech inlays, hoodies. Black, blue, and gray are the main colors there. There's some skirts and leggings with a similarly cyberpunk flair. But most of the clothes are a different style entirely. Neat dress shirts and blouses, modest skirts and sweaters, a number of very
expensive-looking dresses and coats, and no shortage of accessories to go with them. There's various bits of sportswear, swimwear, winterwear and other specialized clothing as well, many different sets in different styles for each activity. It seems dubious that Yan Sun has ever even done most of the things they were made for.
Yan Sun hands Jessica her clothes before leaving the closet with her own selection in hand, not really seeming to pick up on Jessica's bewilderment. Her thoughts are elsewhere.
Jessica absently accepts the clothing and tucks them under an arm without really examining them, too busy snooping. A fancy dress catches her eye and she's quick to scoop it off the rack, holding it up to her own frame as she turns Yan Sun's way, a disgusted look on her face. Much to her dismay, her judgemental look is wasted on Yan Sun's backside since she's already on her way out of the room. Jessica frowns and tosses the dress onto
one of the dressers, not bothering to put it back on the rail. "You have too much shit." she muses as she exits after Yan Sun, shifting the clothing in her hands to see what's been picked out for her.
Yan Sun lets out a faint snort, the corner of her mouth tugging upward ever-so-slightly at the accurate and eloquent summary of her wardrobe. She heads over to the bed and discards her robe onto it. "Yeah," she agrees softly without looking Jessica's way, starting to get dressed.
Jessica studies the shirt for a moment, the print causing a smile to tug at the corner of her mouth that culminates in a roll of her eyes. She gets dressed and disappears into the bathroom for a moment to collect her sunglasses from her pile of clothes on the counter, lest they get lost, and clips them onto the collar of her dragon shirt.
Yan Sun slumps back onto the bed as soon as she's dressed. She sits on the edge, with her hands in her lap, as she looks out at the rainy day gray of the city through the massive window, a faint, distant frown on her face.
Jessica returns from the bathroom and approaches the bed. The distant look on Yan Sun's face is enough to explain where her mind has turned to, and the frown is reflected on Jessica. She folds her arms across her chest as she watches out the window for a moment before dropping onto the bed beside Yan Sun, awkward silence once more taking hold.
Yan Sun lingers in the silence for a time, just watching out the window, but then she breaks it, giving voice to one of the thoughts that keep swirling in her head. "It doesn't feel real," she says quietly, distantly, a shadow of a laugh accompanying the words. "Or.... it does, but- I-I can't-..." she trails off into helpless silence, unable to articulate the feeling.
Jessica's gaze turns down to her hands when Yan Sun speaks, silently willing herself to not let her own thoughts travel back in that direction, but the scars on her hand betray her. "Yeah..." she says in little more than a whisper, because she has no clue what else to say. Nothing she could possibly say will fix it. Nothing will make the situation any better. She knows that. Just like she knows that feeling Yan Sun is describing. Almost
transitional, as if your body and mind just haven't accepted what's happened yet. Not really. It feels hollow. Floaty. Like falling. And all you can do is wait until you hit the ground and it suddenly feels real again.
Yan Sun just keeps staring out the window. "I... recovered one of the messages. He was telling the truth. He tried to reach me. Before..." The other thought that won't leave her mind. That's been burrowed in there since the night before.
Jessica's frown returns, well aware of where those thoughts take you. "Fuck him." she snaps off. "He is the reason that you left. If he wasn't such a fuck, then maybe you would have answered his messages." she continues, desperately trying to give Yan Sun a way out from under that guilt in the only way she knows how. Anger and vitriol.
Yan Sun makes a token hum of agreement, but Jessica's vitriol does little to keep her train of thought from arriving at its inevitable destination. "I... I could've been here. Instead of halfway across the fucking galaxy." Her voice is turning thick from the lump in her throat. "If I'd just-" She swallows hard, turning her head to look at Jessica, face half-obscured by damp hair, but there's a dread in her glistening eyes. "Do you think she
Jessica's brow furrows as Yan Sun speaks and she opens her mouth to interject, but the question posed cuts her off. "I-..." she shakes her head, gaze lowering once more. "I don't know, kitty cat..." More empty words. She shifts, her shoulder pressing against Yan Sun's as she brings a hand to her leg. "But-... I do not think that she would want you to do this to yourself. Mm?" she offers. Her tone is uncharacteristically soft, as if
unsure if it's something she should be saying. A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth and she finally tilts her head to meet Yan Sun's gaze with a shrug. "Or maybe I am wrong, I did not know her." she jokes, perhaps a bit inappropriately.
Yan Sun 's leg pulls away, and she curls up a little more, posture closed off, shoulders tense. Her eyebrows furrow in thought, going silent again.
Jessica's smile immediately fades and she pulls her hand back into her lap. A helpless feeling settles into her chest. Unsure of what to say. What to do. And acutely aware that she really doesn't belong here. Something she has no doubt that Yan Sun's father would agree with. She's just found herself wedged into an intimately personal family affair for a family that she knows absolutely nothing about. The silence continues for a while
as she simply watches out the window, the skycars barely even registering. "What was she like?" she eventually asks, and nearly winces when she does, as if it was a thought that was accidentally spoken aloud.
Yan Sun 's frown deepens at the question, struggling with how to answer. "Kind," comes eventually. "Fun. Especially when I was younger." It's not the answer she would've given a mere week ago. It'd have been colored by the inescapable reality that she hadn't lifted a finger to stop her father from disowning her, at least as far as she knows. But somehow that's not what's on her mind now. What fills her head are childhood vacations, and
praise after another aced test. Private conversations, comforting her after an admonishment from her father for acting inappropriately. "Talented. She was a cellist. A good one." Memories of attending concerts as a kid. Boring. Stuffy. And yet her mother's playing was captivating.
Jessica listens, her expression softening. Her brow furrows as Yan Sun finishes speaking, tilting her head slightly. "Cellist?" she asks with genuine curiosity, "What is this?"
Yan Sun looks back to Jessica, a little caught off-guard by the realization that she doesn't know what it means. "A musician," she says with a small, somber smile. "She plays-" An almost imperceptible wince. "-played, the cello. It's, uh... an old Earth string instrument," she adds, unsure how common knowledge of such things is on Aite.
Jessica's brow pinches together further, as if trying to place the instrument. Failing to, she gives a hum of confirmation. "Mm. Cello." she nods as if it just came to her, "I have seen this before." Before Yan Sun can question it, she shifts in place a bit to better face the woman beside her, bringing one leg up on to the bed between them. "And this was her job? She was making music?"
Yan Sun 's expression softens just a little, the familiarity of Jessica's lying oddly comforting. The question makes her brow furrow. "I-... I guess." It feels strange to refer to it that way. It's not like it was about making money. Especially not after she'd married Yan Sun's father.
Jessica tilts a bit, leaning one palm against the bed to prop herself up. "You have some of her musics?" she asks.
Yan Sun 's gaze falls away, and she opens her mouth to respond just as the voice of Guang Huan interrupts from above: "An early dinner is being served shortly in the dining room. Mr. Sun requests the company of his daughter and guest." The VI must have informed Yan Sun's father that they were up and about.