#YanSun'sRoom – December 9, 2016

The data on the storage drive is as Kirill described it. Blueprints for the entire Torthus-Cross building. Staff list. Network and security information. With a bit of digging, Yan Sun is able to find a backdoor into the building's network. A hole in their security that seems intentionally left there. It's not the sort of thing that many would notice. Even those with experience. But for Yan Sun it may as well have been a bright, shining

beacon. Were she to use it her presence probably wouldn't go unnoticed and the hole would most likely be plugged. But it would, at least temporarily, give her access to the building's cameras, locks, elevators, and anything else on the network. It's quite apparent that to someone with little knowledge in the field, this entire drive would be useless.

Yan Sun spent several hours combing through the data on the drive before finding the beacon. After making sure she hadn't missed anything, she's spent the rest of the time until the end of Jessica's shift just staring at the data displayed on her laptop, to which the drive is plugged in. She's pulled her legs up into her chair, hugging them close to her chest. Her hood is up and she had a distant expression on her face, obviously

deep in thought.

Jessica steps into the room as the door slides open. "You are still up." she says. Not a question, just a statement. She suppresses a yawn as she studies Yan Sun from the doorway for a moment. She removes the cap from her head and gives it a quick tap against her hardsuit to shake some of the snow loose- onto the floor- before frisbee tossing it at Yan Sun. She thumps across the room in her boots and takes a seat at the edge of the

bed to begin removing her boots.

Yan Sun glances at Jessica as she enters, and then startles as the cap hits the side of her head, and she lifts her arm far too late to stop it, her reflexes dulled from being up all night, despite the empty cans of caffeinated soda on the desk. "Yeah..." she says, although it sounds almost like a sigh.

Jessica kicks her boots aside once freed of them and sets her gauntlets down on the edge of the bed before she stands up. She moves over behind Yan Sun and leans over her, acting as if she's going to wrap her arms around her for a moment before shifting courses and shoving her cold hands down the top of her shirt with a snicker.

Yan Sun starts to lean back against Jessica only to flail wildly as ice-cold hands press against her chest. She falls out of her chair with a yelp, accidentally elbowing her tormentor in the face in the process. She just barely manages to stay on her feet by grabbing hold of the desk to steady herself. "Gah! 乜春!"

Jessica begins to laugh loudly until her head snaps backwards as she's elbowed, instantly quieting her laughter, and she stumbles back a few steps. She brings her hand up to her face as a bit of blood trickles from her nose. "You bitch!" she calls out instinctively, looking over the blood on the tip of her fingers. "You make me bleed!" she accuses, blinking hard a few times to get rid of the funny blotches that tend to crop up in

your vision when you're nailed in the nose. "Gah-... Ah-... You hit me in the nose!"

Yan Sun looks annoyed at first, but as soon as she realizes she elbowed Jessica she exclaims "Sorry!" She winces as she sees the blood, hurrying up to her and reaching out with her hand, hovering uncertainly near Jessica's face as she looks over her nose. "I'm really sorry, it was an accident... how does it feel?"

Jessica sucks in a breath through her mouth. "How do-... It feels like you hit me in the nose!" she says, giving a swat at Yan Sun's hand with her own bloodied hand. "Fuuuuck. Is broke!" she exclaims, bringing her other hand up to press on the bridge of her nose. "Is broke?" She swats wildly a few more times at Yan Sun as she continues to press on her nose, more than likely getting a little blood on her clothes. Finally, with a

sniffle, she presses the back of her hand against her nostrils. "You are lucky that you didn't break it! Or I break your face! Mmm!?" she threatens once she realizes her nose isn't broken. She closes her eyes tightly and gives Yan Sun a little shove as a pained whine escapes her. "How are you sooooooo clumsy!? Is not possible to be this clumsy!" Tilting her head upwards, she pinches her nose and begins to stomp off

towards the bathroom. "When you least expect it one day, I'm going to punch you! Right in the face! You wait!" she shouts a hollow threat.

Yan Sun keeps her hands away after the swatting, looking on with a sympathetic frown as Jessica curses and gets blood all over. "Soooorry!" she shouts after her when she heads off to the bathroom, doing her best to stifle a highly inappropriate laugh. She walks closer to the bathroom door but stays outside, waiting for Jessica to clean up.

Jessica shouts from the bathroom as the sound of running water from the bathroom sink can be heard. "I hear you laughing! I am bleeding and you are laughing!? Fuck you! You-... Gah... Just wait!" she threatens again. The water continues for a number of minutes before shutting off. The sound of her removing her armor plating follows as she begins stowing her work gear away in her case. A few moments later she reappears through the

door in her undersuit, eyes narrowed on Yan Sun. "Asshole." she says simply. "When you least expect it!" she threatens again.

Yan Sun can't help but smile, if briefly, as Jessica reappears. She snickers, raising a hand to shield herself, just in case, as she steps closer to try and get a look at her nose.

Jessica snaps her arm up as if she's going to punch Yan Sun when she steps closer, but slowly lowers it. "You are such a fool..." she sighs, wiggling her nose briefly as she brings her hands to Yan Sun's sides. "But seriously... I am getting tired of you hitting me. One more 'accident' and I am going to beat your ass."

Yan Sun tilts her head, smirking slightly and leaning in to plant a light kiss on Jessica's nose. "Sorry..." she repeats once more. Her smile fades as she pulls back, studying the woman in front of her. She places her left hand on Jessica's right arm, running her thumb over the undersuit as her gaze breaks away to the arm as well.

Jessica's left hand moves down and she gives Yan Sun a quick slap on the ass. "Beat your ass!" she repeats, finally allowing a small smile to cross her lips before tilting her head slightly. "Why are you still awake, mmm?" she asks. "Is late-... or early-... whatever..."

Yan Sun almost jumps slightly, a little startled, but her smirk returns briefly, before fading away once more at Jessica's question. Her gaze returns to the arm again. "I... I th-..." she stops, glancing up at her before pulling away, turning around and looking up at the ceiling for a moment as she lets out a frustrated sigh. She's biting her lower lip as she turns back, obvious hesitation in her face. Another sigh, more

resigned, is followed by a quiet, but drawn out: "Shit..." in English.

Jessica looks confused, blinking a few times as Yan Sun turns away. When she turns back, Jessica steps closer, returning her hands to Yan Sun's sides. "What is shit?" she asks with an amused look on her face as her fingertips trail up and down Yan Sun's side. She leans in and presses a kiss to the side of Yan Sun's neck. "Mmmm? What..." she continues, pressing a second kiss slightly lower as her fingers dig beneath the lining of Yan

Sun's hoodie and begin to tug it aside, "...is..." a third kiss on her shoulder, "...shit?" She lingers there at Yan Sun's shoulder for a moment, baring her teeth before biting down. Hard.

Yan Sun has an uneasy look to her as Jessica starts kissing her neck, and she's about to say something when she's suddenly bitten in the shoulder. "GAH! 屌那星! 乜春?! 哎唷! Ow! Ah!" she shouts, the tone of her voice hinting at what she might be saying as she tries to push Jessica away, wincing in pain.

Jessica tucks in close to keep from being pushed away, a loud snicker escaping her. "Oh quit your complaining. You make me bleed! Besides..." she adds confidently with a shrug, "I know you like it." she teases, biting at the air as if threatening to do it again. Her hands slide further around Yan Sun. As her snickering dies down she leans back in and presses another kiss to the side of Yan Sun's neck.

Yan Sun frowns as she glances at the bitemark on her shoulder, mumbling "Ow...". She seems a little put-off, as she had been trying to gather herself to say something before the sudden interruption, and for a little while she just stands there as Jessica stays close and plants another kiss. She wraps an arm around her back, her mind already too distracted to pay much attention to the pain still radiating from her shoulder. "I

talked to Kirill." she suddenly blurts out, closing her eyes and almost freezing up a little as she braces for Jessica's reaction.

Jessica's back straightens up as she leans back to look Yan Sun in the face. "You-..." she starts, seeming confused for a moment as she considers what she just heard. With a roll of her eyes she blurts out a string of batarian expletives. "What did that fuck say, mmm?" she asks, her mood once again turning on its head. She lets out a long sigh as she steps back and brings a hand to her forehead. "I can't belie-... Why!? Did he

come here!?" she asks, obviously under the impression that he reached out to Yan Sun. "I tell him I am done with him and his little group. Why can't he respect that!?" It seems as though she's done rambling before suddenly adding, "I already have one father and he is dead! I do not need another! Gah-..." she gives an apologetic look Yan Sun's way. "I will tell him to leave us alone." she assures.

Yan Sun winces, her right hand moving over to hold her own left arm as she listens to Jessica's ramble. "No." she says, looking very uncomfortable. "I asked him to come by... I was just curious."

Jessica's expression goes blank as she looks Yan Sun over. She furrows her brow, that classic Jessica anger just beneath the surface, but all she manages is, "...Why?"

Yan Sun shrugs, shifting uneasily as her gaze falls. "I just-... I wanted to know more about you. I just wanted to understand-..."

Jessica shakes her head slightly, the anger beginning to bubble up. "You want-... So ask me then! You don't-... you don't go behind my back and talk to that fuck!" she says, taking another step back from Yan Sun. "I trust you, kitty cat! I tell you-... I show you things that I didn't show anyone else... And you..." she trails off, sucking a deep breath in through her nose as she simply scowls at Yan Sun. Her right hand balls

up into a fist.

Yan Sun 's gaze darts back up, catching a brief glimpse of Jessica's scowl, before returning to the floor. She winces as she hears the anger in her voice, closing her eyes. "I-... I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" she says, quietly at first, but soon exclaiming it loudly. "I just wanted to understand you, I didn't mean to-... I'm sorry, I-... I shouldn't have just-..."

Jessica's fist tightens until her knuckles turn white and she bites down hard. For a brief moment, it almost looks as if she's about to throw a punch, but she reigns it in... Kind of. She reaches out with both hands and shoves Yan Sun back by her shoulders. Not a hard shove intended to push her over. Just a quick, brief push. "You go behind my back and talk to people about me!? Fuck you!" she shouts. She stomps off towards the bed

and sits at the edge, scooping her boots up along the way, and begins putting them back on.

Yan Sun remains frozen in place for a moment after the shove, and when she hurries over to the bed her eyes have started to tear up. "I'm sorry!" she practically shouts, standing in front of Jessica and reaching out for her wrist to try and stop her from putting her boots on. "Please, just-... just calm down and listen... it was a stupid thing to do, okay?!"

Jessica jerks her hand away when Yan Sun reaches for it. She stares at Yan Sun through a scowl. "Fuck. You." she repeats pointedly before her gaze moves back to her boot and she continues to put it on. "You go behind my back!" she says, having a hard time with her boot due to the sheer frustration. Finally she just jams her foot into it and pulls her other boot closer to begin working on that one.

Yan Sun steps back, pulling her arms close to her body and grasping her own elbows as she realizes interfering with her will do no good. "...and it was the wrong thing to do! That's why I had to tell you. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done it. Can we just talk about this? Please? It was a mistake."

Jessica continues to try and put on her second boot, but it's going even worse than the first. Once Yan Sun finishes speaking she pauses what she's doing and simply stares at the floor for a moment, biting down on her lip so hard that she nearly draws blood. When she looks back up at Yan Sun, there's an obvious glassiness to her good eye. "Talk." she says, sucking in a breath through her still-sore nose. "Make it good, because this

is-... this is the last time you will ever speak to me."

Yan Sun looks taken aback. She blinks, her arms dropping to her side as she remains frozen in place, looking at her. A few tears have started rolling down her cheeks. When she speaks her voice is shaky, and quiet. "I-... Jessica... please, I-... I really like you. I do. I made-... it was a stupid mistake. I thought if... if I knew more about you, I could-..." A brief pause is filled by a half exhale half sniffle. "You're not easy

to talk to, 頑-頑. I was worried I'd-... I'd say the wrong thing and screw this up. And I was worried about you... I am worried about you. What you're planning on doing." She lowers her gaze. "I... I shouldn't have talked to him without asking you. I'm sorry..." She trails off as she looks back up at Jessica, her right hand fidgeting with the bottom of her hoodie.

Jessica simply stares at Yan Sun as she continues to explain herself, only seeming to grow more frustrated with each word. When she mentions how Jessica isn't easy to talk to, her expression softens slightly, a brief look of guilt crosses her face but she's quick to wipe it away. "So instead you do the wrong thing and screw this up, yes?" she asks coldly. "So what did he tell you? Was it worth it? Mmm?"

Yan Sun winces again, and nods slightly at the first question. It takes her a little while before she responds to the second one. "He... he said you ran away. That he missed you. That there were... a lot of people that missed you. He said he was worried about you." She takes a small step closer, but keeps her distance to Jessica. The hesitation is obvious as she speaks again: "You... never mentioned you had a... boyfriend there.

Kirill said you left him too. No explanation."

Jessica scoffs loudly at the implication. "He wasn't my boyfriend. He was just a warm body to lay next to." She looks Yan Sun up and down, "They are not hard to come by." she says, her implication quite clear. She bites down hard immediately after it leaves her mouth, almost as if it's a struggle just to keep this wall of hers up. "You are worried about me. He is worried about me. Everybody is worried about me. I am so sick

and fucking tired of hearing this. Have you even looked at me? Mmm?" she lifts her hand, running it across the burned skin on her cheek, "What is there to worry about? What is left!? You don't get it. Nobody gets it. Everyone I knew. Everyone I loved. They all died. Is just me. And the city I grew up in. My home. They are all worshipping this man who burned them. And my friends are just forgotten. My family?

Forgotten. And I am expected to-... to what? Mmm? Just let it go?" She scoffs again, "Those people don't miss me... They don't even know me..."

Yan Sun flinches slightly at the comment directed at her, a hurt look crossing her face as she looks down at Jessica's feet, unable to meet her gaze. Another few tears escape as she blinks. She doesn't say anything, but a frown slowly begins to take place as Jessica talks. "Nobody's expecting you to let it go, or... or forget them!" she suddenly blurts out, sounding almost frustrated. "That doesn't mean you throw your life away

trying to avenge them! What's left? You're left! You're the only reason I'm still on this planet you 愎墨魚頭!" She steps closer to Jessica, looking up at her again, reaching out towards her burned cheek, but reconsidering actually trying to touch her. "I have looked at you. Every day the last three weeks..." she starts to get choked up as more tears escape. "停 being 戇鳩, you'll be 悲傷我唔想要!" she half-shouts,

an incomprehensible halfway state between languages as her upset grows.

Jessica remains silent as Yan Sun speaks, but turns her head away from her hand as she reaches out. She shuts her eyes as Yan Sun continues, a few tears of her own escaping from her left eye which she promptly wipes away with the palm of her hand. "They are all dead because of me..." she says softly, "I owe them this. If-... If it means it is my turn to die, then I am okay with this." She opens her eyes, looking back to Yan Sun.

Most of the anger seems to have been replaced by a deep sadness.

Yan Sun lets out a long, quiet sigh, her shoulders dropping as energy fades from the conversation on both sides. She returns Jessica's gaze, focusing on her good eye, but just before she glances away for just a moment. "...I'm not." she, her tone quiet, soft.

Jessica slowly stands up, one boot on and one boot off, and brings her hands back to Yan Sun's sides. "I am not throwing my life away, kitty cat..." she assures. "I can do this. We can do this." She brings her left hand to Yan Sun's cheek, forcing her to hold her gaze. "You want to know why I leave them? Mmm?" she asks, her eye moving back and forth between Yan Sun's. "Because I did not belong there. But-..." she pauses,

swallowing hard as her right hand searches for Yan Sun's hand and squeezes it tightly, "...But I do belong here. Mmm? I hope." she says, though it sounds as if it's more of a question. Her left hand moves back down to Yan Sun's side again. "I am not ready to say goodbye to you." she admits, "Help me do this, kitty cat. Help me and-... and we can get off this shithole together..."

Yan Sun remains silent as Jessica speaks, staring at her. She returns the squeeze of her hand, glancing down briefly. It is not hard to see how conflicted she is as she looks back up at her. "I-..." she trails off, closing her eyes for a moment and then trying again: "This isn't a good idea, Jessica... Let's just... let's just go. Now. We can leave. Doing this, it won't-... it won't work. And what good would it do if it did?

Killing that 黑心鬼 won't change what happened..." Her voice is soft, almost pleading. Not argumentative.

Jessica's gaze moves downward as Yan Sun speaks, her mind considering her possibilities. She smiles briefly at the idea of just packing up and leaving, but her attention is pulled to her cap on the floor and she stares distantly at it for a few silent moments once Yan Sun has finished speaking. "I have already done too much to just give up now, kitty cat. If I do, then it was all for nothing..." She gives Yan Sun's hand another

squeeze as she refocuses her gaze on the woman, offering a sad smile and leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek. "The last year... It has been-... Every moment. Every moment I think of nothing else but Cross. Of what he did. Of what I will do to him. Until I meet you. You are stubborn. And annoying. And sometimes I want to punch you in your dumb face." she says, her smile growing slightly. "But you-... Thank you for

caring so much." she offers. Quite possibly the most sincere she has ever been. "Maybe I have not said it enough. Is just my way..." she continues with an apologetic shrug, "...Thank you."

Yan Sun is quite obviously caught off-guard by Jessica's sincerity, which goes far beyond what she's gotten used to expecting. She mirrors her smile with a faint one of her own, letting out a half-chuckle, half-sniffle and then sudden suddenly wrapping her right arm around Jessica's back, pulling her into a hug and placing her head on her shoulder. She doesn't say anything just yet, and her smile quickly fades, not that it would

be visible to Jessica.

Jessica returns the gesture, slowly wrapping her arms around Yan Sun and squeezing her tightly as she sucks in a deep breath. She presses another soft kiss to Yan Sun's shoulder. This time no bite follows it up. She buries her face against the crook of Yan Sun's neck as a few tears stream down her cheek.

Yan Sun moves her other arm to wrap around Jessica as well once her hand is freed, hugging her just as tightly herself. She keeps her head on her shoulder, staring at the wall behind her. After a couple of deep breaths taken in silence she starts to loosen her grip, but doesn't let go of the hug. "You don't have to be what this place has made you be. Not going through with this, it wouldn't be 'giving up'..." she says quietly,

pulling away enough to be able to look at Jessica, but keeping her arms wrapped around her. She frowns as she sees the tears. Not a sight she's used to. Her gaze travels down her wet cheek before going back up to her eye. "It would be choosing to move on. Letting him fill up your mind, fill up your whole life...? That's letting him win. 屌閪 that." she says, her voice firm.

Jessica brings one of her hands up around Yan Sun's back to wipe at her face before hooking it around Yan Sun's shoulder and giving her one more tight squeeze. She remains still, just holding her in silence as the seconds go by. Finally she loosens her hug and leans back, looking Yan Sun in the face. She presses a quick, soft kiss to her lips before letting go entirely and turning to walk towards the bathroom.

Yan Sun 's hands drop to her sides as Jessica slips out of her grasp. She looks after her as she heads off to the bathroom, but remains in place, saying nothing, a great many things mixed into her expression.

Jessica removes her single boot near the bathroom door and glances back in Yan Sun's direction. "Can we just-..." she starts and stops, letting out a sigh. "I am tired and I have to work tonight and all of this shit is exhausting me..." she says. "Now I am going to take a shower... Are you coming or not?" she asks, a small, tired smirk crossing her lips.

Yan Sun 's expression remains troubled, but a faint, and tired, smile of her own takes hold as she follows Jessica into the bathroom. Enough arguing for now. She slips her arms around her from behind, planting a kiss on the back of her head as she starts to peel at the armor undersuit.

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