Yan Sun lets out a faint breath. "Yeah... probably. Definitely." She goes quiet for a moment, bird song from somewhere above filling the silence. "...I don't know what to do," she admits with a sigh, letting her head lean back against the trunk of the tree. "How to..." she trails off and shakes her head, eyes closed.
#SunTower – May 10, 2026
Jessica glances to Yan Sun, quizzical look quirking up her brow. "Mm?" she hums, prodding the woman to finish her thought.
Yan Sun opens her eyes, picking at a piece of bark stuck to her jeans. Eventually she speaks again. "There's so much I could do. If I got the company," she says, looking up at the almost imperceptible shimmer of the balcony's kinetic barrier against the dark sky. "I could make a difference." She doesn't sound excited about it. More... resigned.
Jessica gives a few small nods, expression growing distant as she tears her focus away from Yan Sun and back to the river, as if worried that if they make eye contact for too long that the woman beside her might pick up on something she shouldn't. For a few moments she looks a million miles away, gaze fixed on the river but barely looking at it. Eventually she seems to pull herself out of whatever thoughts have her in their grasp,
shifting a bit against the tree. "You will." she says simply, doing her best to prop up a smile but it doesn't quite manifest, resignation mirrored in her own tone as she speaks despite her best effort at concealing it.
Yan Sun is just as lost in her own head herself, watching the small gaps of sky between the canopy of the trees. Jessica's words bring her back, a faint snort slipping out. "I don't know..." she says, turning her head against the trunk to look at the woman next to her. "My father's probably changing his mind about all that right about now," she suggests, lips twisting into a half-hearted smirk.
Jessica knows that's not true- as a matter of fact, he's willing to pay a whole lot of credits to make sure it happens- but she snickers anyway. "Fuck him." she comments, leaning slightly to bump her shoulder into Yan Sun playfully.
Yan Sun 's smile is turned a bit more genuine as she's shoulder-bumped, and she reaches out for Jessica's hand to give it a squeeze. She draws in a breath, determination on her face despite the unease that accompanies it. "I meant what I said, you know. I won't let him treat you like that," she assures, propping her smile back up in spite of the anxiety that bubbles up at the prospect of a repeat of the cut-short dinner. "Either he learns,
Jessica returns the squeeze. As Yan Sun speaks, her gaze remains on their hands, her own shifting to interlock her fingers with Yan Sun's. The words temper her smile. "I am not needing you to defend me, kitty cat." she says, attempting to mask her discomfort behind amusement as she idly fidgets with their hands, scarred thumb drawing shapes against Yan Sun's skin.
Yan Sun snickers quietly. "Trust me, I know," she replies, smile growing firmer as she leans in to plant a kiss on Jessica's cheek. "Just don't want you think I'm okay with it."
Jessica gives a little roll of her eyes as a kiss is pressed against her cheek, though a smile still teases the corner of her mouth. She doesn't respond, merely leaning back against the tree and seeming content with remaining her for now as the sound of water and birds fills the silence for them and drowns out her own thoughts.
Yan Sun too is content to remain silent for a time, leaning a little against Jessica as she watches the flowing water, but eventually she interrupts the moment with. "...III'm thinking we grab what's left of dinner and eat it in my room. What do you say?" she suggests, lifting her head to look at her.
Jessica brings an arm around Yan Sun. When she eventually speaks up Jessica draws in a breath, seeming none too eager to get up. But the mention of food serves as a reminder of just how hungry she still is considering their dinner was cut short. "Mm." she hums in agreement. "Foods and more-... Blooood Raaage." she decides, putting minimal effort into a spooky voice as she utters the name of the mediocre series she's been binging.
Yan Sun lets out a snort and climbs back to her feet, brushing herself off. "You know, that TV can access pretty much anything. Out of all the vids in the galaxy, that's really your choice?" she asks skeptically, holding out a hand in an offer to pull Jessica up.
Jessica glances up at Yan Sun's hand, but as she begins to question- and, frankly, SLANDER- the series, she gives a click of her tongue in distaste and swats the hand away, opting to climb back to her feet on her own. "Blooood Raaaaage!" she repeats as her answer to the question, this time with a little more enthusiasm as she emulates the voice that rings out over the title card that each entry opens with. An audio clip that Yan Sun
has undoubtedly heard a few times over the past day or so. With a snicker she gives Yan Sun a nudge and starts back.
There's no sign of Yan Sun's father once they're back in the kitchen, and the staff has not yet collected the leftover food - of which there's enough to feed a half-dozen people. Sushi is surreptitiously gathered on one of the serving trays and brought back to the room, where they snack at their leisure, while watching vids and - in Yan Sun's case - tinkering with her fabricated parts.
Jessica seems more than happy to spend the rest of the night hibernating in Yan Sun's room, the coffee table littered with food, booze, and a collection of doodads and gizmos while a ghost krogan kills and maims its way through its victims on the screen. Despite the low point of dinner, she seems to be in high spirits. Uncharacteristically so perhaps.
Yan Sun finds relief from the funk that dinner brought about both in Jessica's company and in working on her build. For a couple of hours the fabricator whirs away on a third print, while she solders and assembles pieces. It's a lot more tangible than any of the work she did on Aite, keyboard replaced with hand tools, but her focus and expertise is the same, in the zone as parts of the high-end (and highly illegal) housing for the quantum
bluebox start to take shape. She's tied her hair back in a ponytail and put on a pair of safety glasses as she uses her integrated omni-tool and a soldering iron to weave intricate circuitry.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the coffee table, Yan Sun has scattered a whole mess of computer components all across the floor around her. In a characteristic display of questionable posture, she's hunched over the coffee table with the soldering equipment as she works.
Jessica is strewn across the couch behind Yan Sun as she works, a stack of pillows propping her head up. A lull in the action on the screen causes her focus to turn to Yan Sun, studying her for a moment before a snort slips out. "You are such a fucking nerrrrd." she taunts. With her usual lack of regard for personal space- which seems to be unhindered by the fact that Yan Sun is hard at work- she lazily shifts her leg, extending it to
Yan Sun grumbles and arches her head away from the intruding foot, bringing an arm up to push it away, her hand unavailable as its still grasping the soldering iron. "Hey! You're gonna make my hand slip!"
Jessica gains an amused grin and is already moving her leg to give Yan Sun another poke on the back of her head when she complains. "Fine." she relents after the second attack with a sigh, shifting lazily against the couch to better sit up. Her positioning forces her to bring a leg to each side of Yan Sun, sitting on the couch just behind her as she peers overtop her partner to study the mess of components strewn about on-and-around the
coffee table. "So what you are doing...?" she asks, one hand gripping Yan Sun's ponytail and using it as a lever to force her to lean her head back so Jessica can lean down and press a quick peck against her lips before releasing her, focus turning right back to the project. "Mm?"
Yan Sun 's attention is torn away from her work as Jessica grabs her ponytail, a flicker of excitement in her eyes as they look up at her. They close briefly during the kiss, gaze going back to the table after they open as Jessica's attention shifts. "Mm... this is for connecting the QPU with the storage we got from the lab," she explains, pointing at the circuitry she's working on with the soldering iron. "The bluebox that we recovered and
brought with us, that contains the AIs... personality. Its sense of... self. And a lot of processing power. But what it doesn't have is a whole lot of stable storage. When we boot it up, it's not going to be able to recall anything that wasn't in it's memory the moment it was shut down. Even that will slip away quickly if there's no stable storage to offload it to when it starts taking in new data. It'd be disoriented. Amnesiac. So
it needs a solid databank. Making traditional storage play nice with a quantum computer isn't easy, and you can't get the components for that off the shelf, so... I have to do it myself."
Jessica falls silent as Yan Sun explains everything, brown eye scanning over the components laid out. Chin resting atop Yan Sun's head, she nods against her, offering a quiet hum in confirmation. Not that she understands the technical aspect of it. But she's not about to admit that. Besides, doing so would only cause Yan Sun to try and explain it and that's a headache waiting to happen. "You can make it work, yes?" she asks instead,
Yan Sun snickers. "I hope so. Haven't exactly done anything like this before. But I've studied the theory. Aside from storage, the other two big hurdles to getting it working is hardware to convert the data flow to qubits, and then... cooling. I'm thinking synthdiamond heatsinks and cooling lasers," she says, sounding excited about having the chance to talk about what she's doing.
Jessica continues to nod against Yan Sun as she speaks, but the final word causes the nodding to come to an abrupt stop. "...Lasers?" she asks, her tone perking up.
Yan Sun puts down the soldering iron, reaching up to scratch Jessica's head. "Uh-huh. It's power-intensive, but lasers for supercooling is one of the best ways to ensure the housing maintains the right temperature for the bluebox to operate."
Yan Sun snickers and turns her head, a fond smile on her lips as she looks up at Jessica. Her hand shifts to her neck as she stretches up for another kiss.
Jessica leans forward over Yan Sun's shoulder, arms slipping around her shoulders as she presses into the kiss, a mix of flesh and metal brushing against Yan Sun's tongue. A brief sharp flash of pain prompts her to break the kiss but she still lingers close. She tugs at her own bottom lip with her teeth, giving an exaggerated wince as if to silently explain why she pulled back.
Yan Sun 's eyebrows pull together into a frown. "Crap. Sorry. You okay?" she asks, shifting in Jessica's arms to face her, sitting on her own knees now. Her fingertips hover just over Jessica's lips as she studies her medigel-coated, still very fresh piercings.
Jessica snickers, humming a quick: "Mm." in affirmation. She looks down at Yan Sun and brings one hand to the side of her partner's neck, the other still strewn loosely over her shoulder. Pressing her thumb against Yan Sun's chin, she tilts her head upward slightly and presses a soft kiss against her lips- barely more than a peck- and then a second one. "Is fine." she assures quietly, merely studying the woman with a hard-to-read
Yan Sun looks a little bit surprised by Jessica's gentleness, the kisses bringing out a small, slightly puzzled smile. "What's that look for?" she asks, looking up at her with warm, mismatched eyes behind transparent safety glasses.
Jessica gains a sheepish look when she's called out, unaware that she was giving a 'look'. She gives a dismissive shrug of her shoulders. "Just-... make me a promise, yes?" she asks, sucking in her lips, eyes never leaving Yan Sun.
Yan Sun 's frown returns, expression turning serious, if still a bit puzzled. "Okay... what am I promising...?" she asks, reaching up to place her hand over the one on her shoulder, thumb brushing across her knuckles as she watches Jessica, waiting for her to explain.
Jessica's own smile begins to slip, expression reflecting Yan Sun's when the mood turns more serious than she was hoping. It causes her to give another dismissive shrug, accompanied by a shake of her head. The sort of gesture that's trying to convey that this is no big deal, but there's a heaviness behind her eyes that betrays it. "Just-... promise me that when you are rich and-... powerful and all of this shit is yours-..." her gaze
slips to the hand over hers while she stumbles over her words, causing her to pause briefly and draw in a heavy breath. "...promise to me that you will never be like that fuck, mm?" she says, eyes flicking in the general direction of the dining room with a dip of her head before settling back on Yan Sun.
Yan Sun 's frown deepens, the mere mention of the idea of SunTech and all that comes with it being hers bringing out discomfort. "It's more of an 'if' than a 'when'..." she points out, before propping up a small smile. "But... yeah, of course. I promise." She studies Jessica, smile wavering slightly. "It's... pretty much the last thing in the galaxy that I want, so... not a hard promise to make," she quips with forced light-heartedness, the
Jessica gives a small snort that lacks much energy, a heaviness lingering as she studies her partner in silence for a moment, brown eye dancing back and forth between both of Yan Sun's. It's easy to say but power changes people. Money changes people. But... she has no reason to doubt Yan Sun. Not after everything they've been through together. Together. She's seen the sort of person that Yan Sun is. Genuine and kind, even when she
hasn't been the most deserving of that kindness. So she makes the decision to not doubt her. To trust her and take her at her word. Because her word means something to Jessica and there's not many people left in the galaxy that she can say that about. There's an instant wave of relief that comes with the decision. That feeling in the pit of her stomach suddenly doesn't feel quite as insurmountable. Because the choice she has
to make is clear. It hurts, sure, but pain has been one of the constants in her life. She'll get over it. They both will. And, despite that ache she props up a grin, unburdened by what's to come. "Good. And if you break this promise? I am going to kick your ass!" she threatens, hand moving up to flick Yan Sun right in the safety glasses.
Yan Sun studies Jessica, gaze darting around her face as she tries to figure out what's going through her head. Tries to decipher the source of that nagging feeling at the back of her mind. The flick brings her out of it, her nose scrunching up. "I don't doubt it," she says, grin crossing her lips, laced with something like relief at the idea of Jessica being there in that hypothetical future, keeping her grounded. Making this tower feel
less like a self-inflicted glass prison. However unlikely it may be. She takes the glasses off, setting them down behind herself before rising slightly to nuzzle Jessica's jaw, free hand coming to rest on her thigh as she presses a light kiss just under her jawbone.
Jessica leans back slightly to accommodate Yan Sun, the movie all but forgotten as the audio cue of a missed jumpscare sounds out. She angles her head downward to catch the kiss before Yan Sun can pull away, undeterred by the sting of pain this time as her hand returns to her partner's neck to lock her into the kiss.
Yan Sun tries to pull away at first, but when it becomes obvious that Jessica has no intention letting her, she gives up on being careful with the piercing, rising as high as she's able to on her knees as she presses further into the kiss. It's brought to an abrupt stop, however, by the smell of acrid smoke. Yan Sun pulls back, eyes wide, and looks over her shoulder, where the still-hot soldering iron is touching a piece of melting plastic.
Jessica releases her grip on Yan Sun once she pulls back, brows pinching together in confusion. The scent hits her a moment later and she follows Yan Sun's gaze towards the table, confusion turning to amusement. She doesn't attempt to help, merely bringing one foot up onto the edge of the couch as she watches Yan Sun scramble. "I do not think that it is supposed to be doing this, kitty cat." she chimes in calmly.
Yan Sun lifts the soldering iron away from the ruined plastic. "Yeah, I know that!" she exclaims, before looking up at the ceiling. "Guang Huan, it's under control! Got it? No sprinklers or anything, okay?"
Yan Sun packs the soldering iron away and lets out a sigh. "Yep... that board's ruined..." she mutters as she inspects the piece of warped plastic half-fused to the table.
Jessica leans forward, lazily reaching past Yan Sun to grab a snack from the serving tray- having to stretch to do so- and pops it into her mouth while the woman shouts at the ceiling. "Mm." she hums as she chews, rubbing her fingers together to remove any residue before resting her arm against her leg. "You-..." she starts and stops, speeding up her chewing so she can speak. Swallowing hard, she comments: "You see? This is what happens
Yan Sun shoots Jessica an unamused glare, although the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth betrays her. "Maybe that's enough work for today..." she decides with a sigh, grabbing a piece of sushi herself as she joins the taunting woman on the couch.
Jessica is unbothered by the glare, but the decision is met with an approving hum. "What time we are going dancing tomorrow?" she asks, shifting to lay her head in Yan Sun's lap and look up at her once she's on the couch. She lifts her right hand to idly pluck the sushi from Yan Sun's grasp, silently laying claim to it.
Yan Sun considers the question for a moment. "Ten, maybe? I think-... hey!" She furrows her eyebrows as her sushi is stolen before she has a chance to eat it. For a brief moment it looks like she's going to contest the theft, but as she looks down at Jessica she resigns herself with a sigh, a look that's equal parts fond and exasperated in her eyes. "Jerk..." she mutters, leaning forward to grab the edge of the tray and bring it over,
putting it on the couch cushion next to her and taking another of the leftover rolls. Her free hand seeks out Jessica's head, fingertips running through the curls of short hair she's started to grow. "You're lucky I like you..."
Jessica is just about to shove the piece of sushi into her mouth when Yan Sun's exclamation halts her, causing her to put on a faux look of surprise. "What?! I think that it was for me!" she protests, though the grin and snicker slipping out gives her away. "Mm." she hums in response with a roll of her eyes, popping the sushi into her mouth. She studies her makeshift pillow for a moment before turning her focus back to the screen just
in time to catch someone's head getting squished underfoot by a ghastly krogan. Sau didn't give her a deadline. One more day will be okay. They did plan to go dancing when they got to Earth, after all. She owes Yan Sun that much. Dancing, and then she can let her know that it's time for them to go separate ways. Yeah. One more day. "Fuuuck." she snickers as an excessive amount of gore is displayed, willing
herself not to think about tomorrow. To ignore that sense of dread trying to surface. It gets easier the more you do it and she's had plenty of practice.