Jessica scans over the windows, absently stepping away from Yan Sun to get a better look. Her forehead creases in thought as she studies the large crab mech. "Crab." she says simply, glancing back at Yan Sun while she taps a finger against the window. "This is like the ones on Aite." she muses, referring to their previous dinner conversation.
#SunTower – April 5, 2026
Yan Sun looks caught off-guard by the comment, surprise turning into a snicker as she follows Jessica's gaze to the unfinished mech. "Yeah? Are they-"
"Yan? Is that you?" a voice calls out from further down the corridor, a disbelieving chuckle following. It belongs to a man in his early thirties with disorderly brown hair. He wears a white labcoat with a SunTech logo on it, a datapad clutched in one hand. His expression is a little hard to read due to the holographic visor that covers his eyes, but one thing is obvious - shock.
Yan Sun startles and spins on the spot, momentarily stunned. A nervous laugh slips out. "I-... Lei?" Her expression softens, but there's an underlying unease that's obvious.
Jessica's attention is yanked towards the voice down the hall, causing her to jerk away from the window like an intruder that knows they're not supposed to be here. She seems to catch herself, easing up and shifting in place, gaze turning from the man- Lei, apparently- and Yan Sun, leaving her curiosity unvoiced for now.
Lei walks closer to the two of them, into comfortable speaking range - there's still no one else in the corridor. "I-... I don't-... I can't believe you're here, I mean, I thought..." He trails off as he looks her over. "Wow, I never got to see..." Without asking he takes hold of her left arm, lifting and turning it this way and that like a piece of machinery.
Yan Sun doesn't object, instead just shifting her shoulder a little to make the examination more comfortable. The reaction actually seems to put her at ease a little, previous discomfort giving way to an almost fond exasperation.
Lei looks Yan Sun's palm over and chuckles. "That's incredible, the integration is so seamless, it's ahead of any consumer options that I know of. Definitely any of ours. It's a modified Prism Silver X, right? Incorporating that kind of hardware without compromising on the fidelity of the soft-tissue..."
Jessica merely takes a position beside the pair, arms folding across her chest as she watches the nerds nerd out over nerdy shit. There's an obvious discomfort in her posture. The way she posts up, constantly glancing down the hall.
Yan Sun smiles slightly. "Yeah, it... was a fun design challenge," she says. "I actually ended up using a lot of your suggestions for the neural programming. Input is pretty much bioidentical." It's surprisingly easy to slip back into tech talk as if it hasn't been years. As if there's no unspoken questions hovering heavy in the air.
Lei brightens at this, chuckling slightly to himself. "I can't believe it. What about the-..."Then he notices Jessica, and it seems to suddenly occur to him that he may have skipped ahead a few steps in this interaction. He clears his throat and lets go of Yan Sun's arm, looking between the two of them. "Uh, wait, what's... what are you doing here, Yan? What's going on?"
Yan Sun 's expression falters slightly, and she takes a half-step back. "I... it's a long story," she says quietly. Noticing Lei looking at Jessica she speaks again. "Lei, this is Jessica. My... girlfriend," she introduces, touching Jessica's arm briefly and shooting her an encouraging, slightly nervous smile. "Jessica, this is Lei Huang, he's a VI technician at SunTech, and an old friend."
Jessica merely stands on the sideline until the conversation shifts towards her, causing her to shift her weight from one foot to the other, arms remaining folded across her chest. When she's introduced, she can't help but size the man up, gaze scanning him over dismissively. Old habits die hard. "Mm." she hums, at least offering the man a nod of her head in greeting. For her that practically passes as polite.
Lei 's extends a hand in Jessica's direction, only to awkwardly pull it back when faced with her crossed arms and dismissive look. A quiet "...huh," slips out, and he looks like he's trying to work something out. "Nice to, uh... meet you." When his attention returns to Yan Sun, however, something shifts in his expression. "...I'm such an idiot. Your mother. That's why you're here, of course..."
Jessica gives a small raise of her brow at the inscrutable look on Lei's face. But his words are met with an agreeable hum, causing her posture to ease up somewhat. She shoots another uneasy look down the corridor, but when Lei turns the topic towards Yan Sun's mother, her own expression darkens. She doesn't say anything, but there's an inadvertent shift towards Yan Sun, her arm brushing against her partner.
Yan Sun 's face twitches slightly, but she forces herself to keep it together, propping up a faint, slightly unsteady smile. "I'd... rather not talk about it. But thanks," she says.
Lei nods a couple of times, not seeming quite sure how to handle the situation. "Right. Okay. Uh..."
Yan Sun draws in a breath. "I... actually came down here hoping to get some components. I've been working on a project. You know I like to stay busy when stuff is..."
Lei nods again. "Yeah... always had that in common, didn't we? Uh, let me help you out. What are you looking for?"
Yan Sun shifts a little awkwardly. "It's... a lot of stuff. Components for a custom VI frame. Think I could look around the lab stockroom a bit?"
Jessica shifts again at the mention of a 'VI frame'. "Mm. She is a fucking nerd." she snickers, as if that will help to sell the lie, and gives Yan Sun a playful bump with her hip.
Lei studies the two of them for a moment, but then lets out a faint snort. "She certainly is," he agrees, turning to lead the way down the corridor. "That's why we always got along."
Lei glances back at Jessica, considering for a moment before addressing her. "She used to sneak down here to bother the lab techs when she was a kid, you know? I was an intern at the time, still in the middle of my degree. It was a little terrifying at first to have the boss' daughter hanging on my chair reading my code," he admits with a quiet chuckle.
Jessica follows along, smirk tugging at the edge of her lips as Lei shares, his casualness helping to relieve a bit of her unease. Still, she can't quite shake that feeling that she doesn't belong here. At first it seems like she's going to remain quiet but after a few steps she rolls her eyes, almost as if at herself for deciding to speak. "She is still a pain in the ass." she assures.
Lei snickers quietly and shakes his head. "Oh, I wouldn't say she ever was. It was obvious from the start that she was brilliant. That she wanted to learn everything about what went on in the labs, and how to do it herself. She was running digital circles around most of the guys on the team by the time she was a teenager."
Jessica nudges off Yan Sun's lighthearted attack. Lei's continued praise causes her to scoff. "You are going to make her head even more bigger." she says, the look she levels on Yan Sun fond, despite herself.
Lei chuckles as he leads the way through a door into a sizeable room. There's tables full of loose parts along one wall, as well as an unoccupied desk with a terminal, and along another wall is a stairway leading down a floor, but the rest of the room is taken up by several rows of large shelves, filled with drawers.
Yan Sun 's embarrassment still lingers, and she shakes her head to herself as she eagerly heads over to start browsing through the familiar shelves.
Lei stops near the door and looks to Jessica as Yan Sun moves further into the room and starts browsing. He studies the unfamiliar woman curiously for a moment before his gaze bounces away sharply on the realization that he's staring.
Jessica follows the pair into the room. Before she can join Yan Sun, she seems to realize Lei studying her like a science experiment, causing her to remain where she is. The look on her face is probably enough to get the point across that the looks aren't appreciated. The plan was just to slip under the radar. Don't interact with any of the assholes in this building unless you absolutely have to. You're here for Yan Sun, not them. Head
down. Drink their booze. Eat their food. You'll be out of here in a few days. Unfortunately, before her brain can remind her of that the words have already left her mouth. "What you are looking at? Mm?" she asks. Old habits and all.
Yan Sun is opening drawers here and there, pondering various components and picking out some, like this is a shopping trip.
Lei offers an awkward, apologetic smile. "Sorry. I was wondering... where are you from, if I may ask? I can't quite place your accent..."
Jessica seems as if she's expecting an argument to erupt, her brows pinching together in something of a scowl. But a flash of discomfort shoots across her face when Lei remains unruffled and she shifts, posture softening ever so slightly. She offers a small shrug, shooting a glance Yan Sun's way to avoid meeting the stranger's gaze. The question actually seems to disarm her, unsure how to explain away her accent. Her accent isn't
something she put much consideration into until leaving Adrasteia. Her home city was such a melting pot. A clash of different languages and cultures. The language you spoke depended on the company you kept, and often resulted in an amalgamation. She spoke Turkish because it's what her parents spoke at home. She spoke a number of other languages in bits and pieces because it's what the people around her spoke. English became the
most prevalent because it's what her closest friends spoke. "Aite." is what comes out. And it feels weird to say it out loud. Like it's some sort of confession. An admission that it's where her roots are. "Is-... you would not know about it." she qualifies, not wanting him to think that she believes it's a place worth knowing. "But-.. my family is from Türkiye." she adds before she can even decide whether or not to volunteer
Yan Sun 's arms have filled up with gizmos, and she seeks out a plastic crate, putting her finds in it and then bringing it with her, starting to fill it directly with additional bits of tech as she continues her browsing.
Lei furrows his eyebrows, racking his brain for any knowledge of an 'Aite' and coming up blank. "I'll... admit I haven't heard of it." As Jessica continues he lets it go, giving himself permission to simply not know, and instead focus on the familiar bit, nodding in acknowledgement of her family's homeland. "How do you like the city? Have you been here long?" It's not hard to tell that he's making a conscious effort not to look at her
Jessica shakes her head to Lei's question, relieved when no follow-up questions about her home come. Whether playing the Turkish card was to convince Lei that she has enough Earth street cred to belong here, or to convince herself is unclear even to her. "Only for a few days." she admits. "It is... big." she shifts, snorting to herself. She finds herself inadvertently angling her burns away from Lei when she catches him so intently
avoiding them, briefly glancing Yan Sun's way. More old habits. "But-..." she trails off, silent for a moment before her brows furrow and she hums an affirmative: "Mm." as if just now making a firm decision on the matter. "I think that I am liking it."
Yan Sun gets a smaller stepladder to access one of the top shelves, smiling triumphantly to herself as she retrieves a circuitboard.
Lei smiles a little. "I guess it is," he agrees, as if it's not something he's considered all that much. There's a lot of things he's curious about, but few that wouldn't be rude to ask, so he opts for commenting that "I don't get the impression that you share Yan's interest in tech. What do you do...?"
Jessica watches Yan Sun, unable to fend off the smile that tugs at her lips while the little dork runs around gathering components. "Security." she says without much thought. Perhaps it's not the whole truth. She certainly couldn't make that claim a few months ago. But it's also not a lie. She might not have spent much time with Redrock, but in that time she did put in the work. Whether or not it's something she'll continue to do is
Lei nods a few times, Jessica's scars easily contextualized with this tidbit. He's about to ask a follow up question when Yan Sun comes up to them.
Yan Sun comes over with her filled-to-the-brim box of goodies. "Think I got everything I need!" she announces with a smile. "You two getting along?"
Jessica tilts her head to get a look in the box as Yan Sun approaches. "Mm." she hums in affirmation. "He is asking what I do and I was just going to say to him how we meet." she continues, a teasing grin crossing her features.
Yan Sun 's eyes widen slightly and she lets out a nervous laugh. "We met on a research expedition!" she blurts out. "I was freelancing as part of the tech team, and she was security," she explains, hoping to pre-empt any retelling from Jessica.
Yan Sun nods. "I-... after-..." She clears her throat. "I wanted to see the galaxy, and... it seemed like a good way to do it."
Jessica seems to have gotten the reaction she was hoping for and presses her tongue against the inside of her cheek, playing with her new cheek piercing as she watches Yan Sun flounder with amusement. "Mm." she hums in agreement, gaze still fixed on Yan Sun in a silent taunt. But she seems to relent. "I save her life." she interjects in a humble brag, looking to Yan Sun and sniffing, as if to say 'no big deal'.
Lei 's curiosity only grows. "Sounds like a story," he says, although as his datapad bleeps he adds: "You'll have to tell me - although maybe not in the middle of work."
Lei looks down at the box after they've exited the storage room. "Hope you'll tell me more about this project too..."
Yan Sun 's expression gains just a hint of discomfort, but she manages a smirk. "Mm, maybe if it actually works."
Jessica lags behind the pair as she follows them back down the corridor, grin still plastered across her face. She doesn't comment on Yan Sun's 'project'.
Lei seems to accept this, and offers a small smile, hesitating. "It... it was really good to see you, Yan. Stay in touch?"
Yan Sun 's smirk falters, guilt entering her expression at the cautious request. "I-... yeah. I will," she promises, and then, after a moment, she shifts her box to rest under one arm and gives Lei Huang a quick half-hug. "It was good to see you too," she says before stepping away. "I'll have Huan register the parts I grabbed later."
Lei seems surprised by the hug, but returns it, if a little awkwardly. It brings out bright smile, and he nods in acknowledgement of her addition about the parts. "It was nice to meet you," he offers to Jessica before his datapad beeps again and he hurries off with a wave.
Jessica gives a little upnod to the man, watching as he scurries off. When her gaze returns to Yan Sun, a small smile still lingers. There's an unspoken implication that Lei didn't leave quite as bad of an impression on her as he could have. Maybe it's just her default expectation that everyone in this building is going to suck. "So you are having everything now...?" she asks, focus briefly bouncing to the box.
Yan Sun looks after Lei Huang for a moment before her attention turns to the box and she shifts her grip on it. "More or less. Should be able to fab the rest in my room," she confirms, starting on the way back towards the elevator, looking a little thoughtful after the unexpected encounter.
Jessica nods to herself as she continues down the corridor with Yan Sun. The look on her partner's face causes her to furrow her brow. "What you are thinking, mm?" she hums, nudging into Yan Sun in that annoying manner that has probably become familiar by now.
Yan Sun lets out a breath as she's nudged, continuing on the way back where they came. "Just... weird to see Lei," she admits. "It's been a long time."
Jessica frowns. After a few more steps she shrugs. "He seems... okay." she offers in a mutter. And that's practically an endorsement from her. "Maybe when we are done here you can say to him to get some drinks with us." she suggests, doing her best to ignore her own unease about this whole ordeal. Before Yan Sun can respond, she gives her a slap on the ass and leads the way towards the elevator and flatly adds: "If this shit that you
Yan Sun looks caught off-guard by Jessica's suggestion, and it draws a small smile from her. She's about to respond when Jessica slaps her ass, making her jolt forward with a surprised yelp and nearly drop the box of tech. She immediately casts a look around to make sure that there aren't any lab techs around that saw what just happened, and then proceeds quickly into the elevator, face red. "It's not going to get anyone killed..." she
Jessica gives a dismissive, "Mm." to Yan Sun's assurance. "Do not worry, kitty cat." she continues, taking a position against the elevator wall beside the panel of buttons. "When it comes to try and to kill us-... again." she lifts her brows, letting that word linger for a moment for emphasis before shrugging, "...I will save you. Again." A smug smile serves as a reminder that she'll probably never let Yan Sun live that down.
It's a quick enough trip back to Yan Sun's room, the same way they came. Once they're inside, Yan Sun places the box on her desk, and then moves over to the workbench area, where she activates the fabricator, her implants lighting up as she navigates an unseen interface.
Jessica makes a little detour to the bar to collect some goodies from Sau's stash, lacking any trepidations about making herself at home here. It's less about feeling comfortable here and more a matter of 'If I'm stuck here I'm going to do whatever I want'. Yan Sun is already elbow deep in her work by the time she gets back to the room. She leans against Yan Sun from behind, reaching around her to set a Warp Cola
Yan Sun glances over her shoulder after the Warp Cola suddenly appears in her field of vision. "Thanks," she says with a small smile, seemingly having no issues with Jessica raiding the bar either. "I just set the fabricator to start it's first print," she explains, giving the frame of the cage-like machine a tap. Itis no longer idle, now whirring loudly as a robotic arm moves around with micrometer precision, expelling omni-gel into
Jessica brings her other arm around Yan Sun from behind, reaching across her with her beer to take a sip over her opposite shoulder as she watches the fabricator work for a moment. "How long it is going to take...?" she asks.
Yan Sun reaches up to idle stroke Jessica's arm with her thumb, while her other hand reaches for the cola, cracking it open and taking a sip. Her gaze goes back to the fabricator. "Long enough for a swim..." she suggests, turning her head to shoot Jessica a small grin.
Jessica shifts slightly. Given her position she has to partially lean over Yan Sun to press a kiss against her lips, her free hand moving to her partner's chin from the opposite side to adjust her head. She lingers in the kiss for a moment before pulling back, grin mirroring Yan Sun's. "Let's go, slut!"
Yan Sun gets to her feet after the kiss breaks, taking another sip of cola before leaving it behind and heading over in the direction of her closet. She starts slipping out of her clothes, discarding them on the nearby armchair.
Jessica starts to follow Yan Sun, beer-in-hand, before realizing she's going to the closet. She stands in the closet doorway, brow furrowing as she watches Yan Sun begin to disrobe. "You have swimming clothes...?" she asks, realizing that must be what she's doing.
Yan Sun looks back at Jessica and nods. "Yeah. I have some you can borrow too," she replies, stepping out of her underwear and opening up a drawer, digging around until she's found what she's looking for. She tosses a pair of light blue boardshorts and a black triangle bikini top to Jessica, while she keeps a dark blue two-piece swimsuit for herself, starting to put it on.
Jessica steps up behind Yan Sun as she begins going through the drawer. Her free arm snakes around Yan Sun's midsection, her hand resting over her bellybutton. "Mm. I am thinking maybe you should stay like this." she hums against the side of Yan Sun's neck, her grin felt as she presses a kiss against her partner's neck. When Yan Sun produces the clothing she relents with a snicker, backstepping away and getting a hand up in time to
catch the offered clothes before they hit her in the face. She quickly sets her beer down atop one of the dressers and looks over the swimwear, studying them for a moment before shrugging and beginning to undress.
Yan Sun adjusts the straps of her bikini top after finishing getting dressed, opening another drawer to retrieve two magnificently floofy towels, wrapping one around her shoulders and holding the other out for Jessica as she watches her change with a small, crooked smile.
Jessica slips on the borrowed shorts and fiddles with the bikini top for a few moments before accepting the towel and turning around. She gives a roll of her shoulders in a silent request for Yan Sun to assist her with it.
Yan Sun snickers and steps up behind Jessica to help her with the top of her swimsuit. She doesn't particularly seem to be in a rush, fingers brushing gently against her neck as she ties the upper strings. "Have you done a lot of swimming?" she asks as she grabs both of the lower ends of string, taking her time in bringing them together across Jessica's bare back and starting to tie.
Jessica nods. "Mm. Some. Not in a big, fancy, rich swimming pool." she taunts, tilting her head partially but unable to really look at the woman behind her. "Some lakes." she says. "And a river!" she adds, as if an afterthought, once more craning her neck slightly. "A big fucking river! Me and Martin and our friends sometimes would go when we are being bored in the summers." The smile that the memory conjures up is fleeting, and her
gaze briefly turns towards the floor. She's spent so much time focused on everything she hated about Adrasteia, it's easy to gloss over all the good times. The times when everything wasn't shit. Times that she almost let the past couple of years overwrite. "Maybe this is why I am a muuch better swimmer than you, mm?"
Yan Sun has a brief moment of discomfort at Jessica's taunting, but as she continues she listens with a soft smile, knuckles brushing against Jessica's back as she finishes up the tying. "We'll see about that," she says with a snort. "Let's go!" she exclaims, and steps into a pair of flip-flops - there's more than one pair near the closet door, should her fellow swimmer want some for the journey to the pool - and grab's Jessica's hand to tug
Jessica takes a moment to quickly retrieve her sunglasses from her duffel bag which is tucked away- atop her armor crate- against the wall just inside the closet door, stowed there after their trip this morning. Sunglasses on her head, towel slung over her shoulder, and flip-flops on her feet, she grabs her beer off the dresser before she's pulled out the door by Yan Sun.
Yan Sun retries her cola can from the desk and then leads the way out into the rest of the penthouse, moving quickly, towel wrapped over both shoulders like a cloak, providing a bit of modesty as they make their way through the corridor, her hand still intertwined with Jessica's.
Jessica is far less worried about modesty. If it wasn't for Yan Sun's obvious expectations, she'd probably be hopping in the pool naked. Her towel is slung over one shoulder as she makes her way towards the pool alongside Yan Sun.
The journey to the balcony goes unimpeded, and once there, Yan Sun leaves her towel on one of the sunchairs, taking another sip of her cola before setting it down on the nearby table and looking to Jessica with a small grin. "Ready?"
Jessica likewise sheds her towel and drink. The question causes her to look Yan Sun over, eyes scanning her from head-to-toe as a mischievous grin crosses her face. Suddenly, without warning, she scoops Yan Sun up and scurries towards the diving board with the intention of slinging Yan Sun into the water.
Yan Sun lets out a startled noise as she's quite literally swept off her feet, reflexively grabbing onto Jessica to keep from falling from her grip. "Ah! What are you doing?! Nononowait...!" she exclaims through surprised laughter as she finds herself carried to the diving board.
Jessica cackles maniacally. "No waiting! You are going-..." her eyes widen as she gets an unsteady step onto the shaky diving board but she's able to recover, "...gah! In the water!" She dips her head in an attempt at slipping from Yan Sun's grasp as she lurches forward, trying to sling her off the end of the diving board and into the water below.
Yan Sun giggles loudly amid continued protests as she tries her best to inconvenience Jessica and keep hanging on, but when she's finally peeled off and hurled off the board she shrieks - and grabs hold of Jessica's arm to pull her along in her fall. If she's going down, she's taking her betrayer down with her!
Jessica was already on shaky ground considering the wobbly diving board. So when Yan Sun grabs ahold of her on her way down, she's left with no real way to keep herself upright. Eyes wide, she tumbles forward off the diving board, managing a loud, "Bitch!" before she crashes into the water. After a moment she pops up, blinking away the water as she runs her hands over her face, clearly not having expected that to go so poorly for her.