Many minutes pass as Jessica takes in the alien solitude of the penthouse balcony. It's oddly peaceful. Not utterly still like the Aitian midwinter wilderness, but something about the constant motion and life of the city makes the calm of the balcony stand out all the more in comparison. The rain eases up, and a few rays of sunlight make it through the lightening cloud coverage, reflecting off the crystal-clear water below in dancing patterns.
#SunTower – March 15, 2026
The cable cars of the mountainside continue to travel slowly both up and down, bringing a steady stream of tourists to visit the lookout platform near the top. Maybe some of those very people are looking back at the tower upon which Jessica has found herself. At one point a leaf falls from one of the trees, landing in the water of the pool. A tiny little puck of a robot putters out across the water to scoop the leaf up and bring it back to the
Yan Sun emerges onto the balcony eventually, the picture she received guiding her to Jessica's location. The doors open with a hiss as she steps out, and close again behind her. Her expression is thoughtful, heavy, and her eyes are puffy, she looks like she's been crying again. Yet seeing Jessica brings a small smile to her lips. "Hey."
Jessica has spent the last few minutes nursing a pilfered beer and taking in the sights. By the time Yan Sun joins her, she's abandoned her robe to get comfy, leaving it to hang over the railing. A near-slip has resulted in her socks being stuffed into her looted slippers near the base of the diving board. She's still perched on the diving board, one leg dangling off the side with a beer sat in front of her. The distant look on her face
washes away, her thoughts interrupted by the sound of a visitor entering her newly claimed abode. When she spots Yan Sun, a small smile of her own is reflected on her face and she returns the greeting with one of her own. "Hey."
Yan Sun heads over to the diving board, gaze falling to Jessica's beer, her smile widening slightly as a snort slips out. She carefully steps out to join her, taking a seat next to her, closer to the base of the board. "Should've figured you'd find your way outside. And into the booze supply," she says with a subdued fondness, before turning her gaze to the view. Her hands rest between her knees, legs dangling idly in the air.
Jessica brings a hand around her beer as Yan Sun joins her, not wanting the jostling of the diving board to send her beer careening into the pool to be stolen away by a little robot. Yan Sun's words cause her smile to widen into a proud smirk and she hums in agreement. She shifts her position slightly to accommodate her guest, tucking her right ankle under the crook of her left knee as she swivels, shoulder pressing against Yan Sun's.
She takes a quick swig of her beer and then glances Yan Sun's way as she lifts the beer, giving the bottle a little wiggle to show it off before her attention shifts back to the picturesque horizon.
Yan Sun watches silently as a skycar flies overhead, and disappears off behind the peak. Her gaze shifts around from point to point of the view, her distant expression halfway obscured by her hair, which partly hides her face.
Jessica seems content to just take in the view in silence. At least for a while. Eventually she finds herself studying the label of her beer, but her thoughts are somewhere else entirely. "I am sorry about your mother, kitty cat." she finally says, head tilting to look Yan Sun's way. They're not words she says often. And it's even more rare for her to mean them. But they're said in earnest this time.
Yan Sun 's head turns, gaze shifting to Jessica. Her lips twitch. It's not quite a smile. Not this time. Too weighed down by heavy thoughts for that. But she nods a couple of times and reaches out to grab Jessica's free hand, giving it a squeeze. "Thanks," she says, voice soft and quiet. "I'm... glad you're here."
Jessica's gaze turns to their hands, studying them as she intertwines her fingers with Yan Sun's and offers a little squeeze in turn. "Mm." she hums in quiet agreement before silence takes hold once more.
Yan Sun looks down at the pool below them, where the recently emerged sunlight casts flickering webs of light on the tiled bottom. "I've never seen my father like this..." she comments quietly.
Jessica doesn't speak right away, just nods. Less in agreement and more in the way one does when they're not exactly sure what to say but want to let the other person know they're listening.
Yan Sun runs a fingertip over one of Jessica's knuckles idly. "She... was upset with him. About... me," she says, eyebrows furrowing into a faint frown as she keeps watching the water.
Jessica studies Yan Sun as she speaks, quietly listening. A question sits at the tip of her tongue, but she doesn't voice it, opting instead to simply listen for now. She shifts in place a little, filling the small gap that separates them.
Jessica has some thoughts about that as well but she doesn't do nearly as good of a job at concealing her thoughts this time, lips curling into a thin frown.
Yan Sun doesn't seem to pick up on Jessica's reaction, lost in her own thoughts of the conversation she just had with her father. "He said he..." Her feet move a little faster, nerves entering her expression, mixing with a confused jumble of emotions. "...that he wants to reinstate me. As his heir." A faint quiver in her voice. She finally turns, gaze landing on Jessica.
Jessica's frown deepens, lines creasing her brow. A bit of silence passes between them, her attention dipping back to the water briefly before she finally voices her thoughts: "...What does this mean?"
Yan Sun brings up her still-glitchy left hand to rub clumsily at her face. "I-I-I... I don't know. It's... this is a lot to..." A desperate little half-laugh. "...a lot to take in. My mother, and-.... and now-... I told him I needed time. To... to figure out what to do. What I..." She swallows and shakes her head, obviously still struggling to process it all.
Jessica nods, her gaze shifting away from Yan Sun. She bites back on all of the thoughts swirling around in the back of her mind- questions about what this would even mean for them- instead focusing on the one question that matters: "...This is what you want...?"
Yan Sun offers a helpless shrug of her shoulders. "I... don't know..." It had never entered her mind as a serious possibility. And to have it dropped on her like this. Right now...
Jessica draws a deep breath in through her nose, shoulders rising as it enters her lungs. "He is wanting to give you all of his shit, yes?" she asks, speaking with a casualness that masks her own thoughts and concerns. She untangles her legs, shifting once again, both legs now dangling off the diving board. "What there is to think about? Mm?"
Yan Sun lets out a faint snort. "I mean, yeah, but... but there's a lot more to it than that. I'd need to stay here, for one."
Jessica nods once more, as if that's not some huge ordeal. As if there's not some unspoken implications buried in there. "And you would be a rich bitch again." she grins, an attempt at lighthearted teasing despite that feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Yan Sun lets out a puff of air. It's not even halfway to a laugh. Her gaze drifts out to the view again. "I think... I think I need to stay here for a few days. Figure this out. Mother. And... what to do. Whether... whether my father has changed. Will you..." She looks back to Jessica, a subdued desperation in her eyes. For a chance to make sense of everything she's had thrown at her in the past 24 hours. "Can we do that?"
Jessica listens, but when Yan Sun voices her question, she looks away, gaze turning back out towards the view as a puff of air escapes her. She offers a dismissive shrug. It was always bound to go this way, she just didn't expect it to be so soon. Yan Sun is the daughter of important people, after all. She was always meant for more than being holed up in some rundown apartment with street trash like her. That much was obvious from the
get go, but since being here it's been hard to ignore the alarm bells going off. "Mm. Is fine." she agrees, nodding to herself. She takes another sip of her beer, her smile looking just a bit heavier as she sets the bottle back down beside her. "But-... maybe is better if I-..." her gaze turns back to Yan Sun and she nods out towards the city, "...stay in the room while you figure this out." There's no hostility behind her
words. Sincerity masking a diplomatic 'get out of jail free' card for Yan Sun to accept without having to get her own hands dirty.
Yan Sun frowns. "No, that's-... that's not what I..." she starts, shaking her head. "Stay with me. Here. Please?" Pleading eyes and a small, hopeful smile as she squeezes her hand.
Jessica looks unsure, discomfort creeping into her features. A silent recognition that this is just delaying the inevitable. The pressure against her hand draws her attention and she sucks in her lips, distant look on her face for a few moments. She returns the gesture, nodding a few times to herself. "Mm." she hums, gaze seeking out Yan Sun's. The look on her face causes her smile to begin to slip back out, drawing out a roll of her
eyes. "Okay." she says simply, ignoring that feeling in the pit of her stomach for now. "But I am going to drink more of your father's shitty beer." she adds, giving a small wiggle of her brow.
Yan Sun lets out a surprised snort of laughter, smile growing as a little bit of the weight lifts of her shoulders. She leans in to press a kiss against Jessica's cheek. "Obviously," she agrees fondly. If she has misgivings of her own, she's not letting them show.