It's afternoon on the 7th of December. The days since the Jack's return have been a bit unusual, since Jessica has been around far more than normal, owing to her injury keeping her from working. Yan Sun seems to have enjoyed having her around more, whether by choice or not, although the small room undeniably makes for cramped living even with time spent downstairs and the occasional food excursion. And, of course, Jessica has a way of
#YanSun'sRoom – November 6, 2018
getting under the skin of people under the best of circumstances. Still, Yan Sun's taken the opportunity to do some pestering of her own, showing a few more of her favorite vids. Right now, she's been taking some time to herself, keeping busy on the extranet. As is often the case she's sitting in the bed, a semi-circle wall of windows projected from her portable holo-emitter. As is often the case some low electronic music is playing in the
background. She's just stopped swiping through windows, pulling one of her legs close and resting her chin on it as her gaze focuses on a particular projection.
Jessica has never been much of a homebody. Always the sort to be out-and-about, being cooped up in the stuffy room over the past few days has made her stir crazy. And, as Yan Sun has undoubtedly discovered, when Jessica gets stir crazy her 'annoying' dial gets turned up to 11. But there's more to it than just the injury keeping her out of commission. She's restless. Sleepless nights consists of tossing and turning and she usually
finds herself leaving the comfort of the warm bed partway through the night to simply watch through their hotel room window until morning comes. Of course, being Jessica, she shows no sign of wanting to actually talk about what's bothering her and any attempts at prying would only be met with stonewalling and irritability. The sound of running water eventually comes to an end as Jessica finishes shaving her head and steps
into the bathroom doorway. Dressed in a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a snug fitting white tanktop, she reaches up to grasp at the top of the doorframe. Thankfully the gesture only causes a small amount of pain in her arm (Which, notably, she seems to refuse to wear the splint on). Were Yan Sun's software updated with the latest 'Jessica' dictionary, the long groan that escapes her would be translated into 'I'm bored!'
as she leans forward, allowing her grip on the doorframe to keep her from falling. She cranes her neck to look towards the glow emitted by the holographic display. "What you are doing? Mmm?" she hums.
Yan Sun hasn't done much prodding after their talk on the night of her return, opting to give her some time (space, on the other hand, is not exactly an option). While there's been no shortage of frustration caused by having a restless Jessica around it's pretty clear that it's been outweighed by relief over having her back and concern over how she's doing, at least so far. As her attention is pulled from her screen she lets out a
distracted "Huh?", gaze shifting to the woman in the bathroom doorway, looking at her through a barrier of blue screens. "Oh, uh... just thinking." she says with a faint, dismissive shrug.
Jessica sways forward and backwards slightly in the bathroom doorway for a moment before releasing her grip on the frame and stepping out of the bathroom fully. She has done away with the pesky stubble that had begun to decorate her head, growing in uneven and patchy on the right side. "Mmm." she hums with a nod as she folds her arms across her chest and leans a shoulder and her head lazily against the wall beside the bathroom door,
Yan Sun briefly flashes a half-hearted smirk, swiping her hand to clear the space between her and Jessica of projections - stacking several of her open windows on top of each other in the process. There's a lot of windows. A lot. Merchant ship listings, extranet searches, video downloads, Citadel hotel rooms, the sites of the Hong Kong Interstellar Spaceport and CPF border control, a group photograph, an article on SunTech, several chat
windows. She ignores all of them for the time being, tilting her head as she studies Jessica thoughtfully, a faint smile on her lips Her clothes are nothing surprising - the selection isn't exactly extensive - jeans, top, hoodie. Black, white, gray.
Jessica looks over the windows visible to her from the backside, unable to discern much from them given her position and the fact that everything is reversed to her. She cocks an eyebrow at the sheer amount of windows. Another long night without much sleep causes her to close her eyes as a yawn escapes her. When they open again, she nudges herself away from the wall and takes a seat at the edge of the bed, lifting one leg onto it.
Jessica "What you are thinking about?" she asks with a tone of mock frustration at having to further press Yan Sun.
Yan Sun 's eyebrows furrow slightly as Jessica yawns. Her restless nights haven't gone unnoticed, even though Yan Sun's a pretty heavy sleeper most of the time. When Jessica takes a seat on the edge of the bed she reaches out to place a hand next to her leg, poking her knee idly. Her gaze hovers somewhere around her finger as she shrugs again, before looking up at Jessica's face. "I dunno... Hong Kong. I j-... I mean, it's a stupid idea,
Yan Sun right? It's-... it's gonna be expensive, and complicated, and-... we should probably just... not. Right?" she says in a non-committal ramble, searching Jessica's expression for an indication of how she feels.
Jessica looks to Yan Sun's hand as she receives a poke to the knee but, as Yan Sun speaks, she looks back to her face with a blank expression save for a raise of her eyebrow as she listens. "Fine." she says once Yan Sun finishes. "You can stay here. I will go by myself." she decides with a shrug, smug grin returning to her face.
Yan Sun blinks. "What-... no, that wasn't-" she seems a little unsure how to respond, furrowing her eyebrows. "It's stupid. I just got-... I was a little drunk and got homesick. Whatever. It's not my home anymore. There's-... what's the point?" she asks, frowning as she looks away from Jessica, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. "Bunch of trouble for no reason." she mumbles while looking across the room.
Jessica gains a look of confusion, her own brows furrowing in turn. She plants a palm flat against the bed and leans against it. "Mmmm. So much trouble." she says, making no attempt at masking the sarcasm in her voice. "Family who are missing you. Friends. A father with so much credits that you are not even knowing what to do with them all." She shifts a bit, extending her arm across the bed as she lays down on her side and rolls
Jessica onto her back. She brings one foot up onto the edge of the bed and folds her hands behind her head as she looks to Yan Sun with a condescending snicker. "You are right, kitty cat. It sounds terrible. I am thinking that maybe we should just stay here and take our chances with the Collectors, yes?"
Yan Sun doesn't take Jessica's mockery particularly well, her frown hardening. She bites down on her lips to keep from saying anything and pulls her other leg in close to her body as well, wrapping her arms around them. "My family doesn't miss me, Jessica." she snaps angrily as she fails to stay quiet, sounding genuinely upset. She blinks a few times, turning her head to look at the wall and hide the emerging wetness in her eyes.
Jessica turns her gaze to the ceiling and makes a show of considering Yan Sun's response for a moment before shrugging dismissively against the bed. "Yes they do." she says matter-of-factly, unaware of just how poorly her teasing was taken due to Yan Sun looking away from her.
Yan Sun blinks several more times, chewing on her lip. "Shut up. Just-... just shut up." she says, letting her left leg slide back down into an outstretched position as she starts to close down open holo-windows just to have something to do while pointedly avoiding looking at Jessica.
Jessica furrows her brow, Yan Sun's stilted reaction causing her to look her way once more. She watches her in silence until it becomes clear that she hit a nerve at some point. "Gah-..." she scoffs, propping herself up with her elbows. "Don't-..." she growls before cutting herself off with a scowl and, for a few charged moments, that's how she remains. But eventually her scowl slips away and she draws in a deep breath. The truth is
that she doesn't particularly know the dynamic of Yan Sun's relationship with her family. It's just her own experiences coloring her opinion. It causes whatever kind of wedge was driven between Yan Sun and her family to seem trivial to her by comparison. Because whatever it was can still be fixed. Her family is still alive, after all. "Don't be a bitch. You know I was not meaning it like that..." she backpedals, almost
apologetically despite the slightly insulting nature. She almost certainly did mean it like 'that', but it seems that Yan Sun's reaction was unexpected.
Yan Sun focuses on her own knee, picking at a loose thread. "Right..." she says quietly, short-lived frustration fading quickly and leaving her just looking hurt, and distracted by thoughts of faraway places and people. Many of her extranet windows still remain open. It's clear she's been putting a lot of prep-work into their trip - it's an undertaking, after all. But it's also clear she's got not shortage of misgivings about heading
Jessica gives a frustrated sigh, though it's unclear if it's directed at Yan Sun or herself. She falls silent as she looks over the remaining windows now that she's at a better angle to do so, still propped up by her elbows. Contrary to Yan Sun, she has done zero prep-work. She doesn't even have a rudimentary understanding of how all of this will play out. Her entire life has taken place in an Aite-shaped snowglobe and has left her
with little knowledge about how the rest of the galaxy works. Combine that with the fact that if you took every credit she's ever had and added it up, it probably wouldn't even come close to the amount she's made since working with Redrock and it has left her in a position where she seems to think she'll just toss some credits around and everything will work itself out. She'll undoubtedly be in for a rude awakening when she
finds out the credits she's made won't last her very long in Council space. But that's a concern for another day. Right now she's more focused on the mopey look on Yan Sun's face. "So-... So then if your parents are such fucking assholes, then fuck them!" she decides on. "They do not even need to know we are there, yes?" As she speaks, she pushes herself up into a sitting position and brings her other foot up onto the edge
Yan Sun sighs, letting her remaining leg fall and folding both of them as she glances Jessica's way for a moment before looking at the myriad of projected screens. There's an extranet post about the security measures and border check rules at the Hong Kong spaceport, a list of merchant ships heading into Alliance space, and separate windows for some of them looking up details about the ships and their captains. An article about SunTech
securing another government contract. The group photo, still partly obscured, but showing Yan Sun, looking not too different to her current self - not too old of a picture then. She's in a vest, arms bare and showing off her cybernetics with a smile. Next to her is Changying in short red hair, clad in biker's leathers with a cricket bat resting on her shoulder and a cocky grin on her face. Several other people are in the picture
as well, all looking about the same age, or younger, aside from a hulk of a man who stands near the back of the group, towering over the rest. The big, friendly smile on his face is at odds with the triad tattoos that cover his arms and neck. The youngest, a scrawny girl with big eyes and hair that looks like its never seen a shower, can't be more than eleven. A few others stand out - a greasy-faced blonde guy with AR goggles
that obscure half his face and a silver-haired figure with sleek synthetic arms and a playful grin. "It's-... it's not that simple. My dad will know." she says, gaze lingering on the spaceport window.
Jessica brings her legs in, shifting into a more comfortable cross-legged position. Yan Sun's response causes her frown to deepen. "How he will know?" she asks, studying the photo for a moment longer before cocking her head towards Yan Sun. "And-... why this will bother you anyway?" she asks, not quite grasping the situation in its entirety. If she doesn't want to see him. Don't see him. Simple answer for a simple problem.
Yan Sun snorts quietly, gaze wandering across the various windows. "He'll know because his company made the VI that runs the surveillance grid. Doubt my old cloaking program is gonna work anymore - not like I've had the chance to peek at security updates since I left." She falls silent, sucking in her lips and staring through the holograms for a moment as she thinks. "I-... I mean, I don't know... I guess it doesn't matter. Not like he's
Jessica's gaze remains on Yan Sun. The implication that her father has that sort of pull gets a raise of her eyebrow. Nevermind the accompanying information that Hong Kong has some sort of VI-monitored mass 'surveillance grid' at all. A different world. Both metaphorically and literally. "Mmm. Then we will make sure to flip off any cameras when we arrive." she says, a small smirk crossing her lips.
Yan Sun can't help a small snicker, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth for a moment. She looks over at Jessica. "You-... you really wanna go? Even though it's... stupid, and a waste of credits?" she asks hesitantly, torn between her misgivings and her desire to see her home again, and, although she's downplaying the significance of it to her, showing her city to Jessica.
Jessica doesn't spend long considering the question. She doesn't need to. She's utterly terrified of going. Aite, for all of its faults and shortcomings- of which it has many- is her home. It's where every memory she has is rooted. It's the only life she has ever known. It's her only remaining tie to her family. It's their final resting place and, up until recently, the place where she assumed she, too, would suffer an untimely
end. A fate that she had accepted long before Yan Sun's arrival. "Mmm." she hums confidently, and it's not entirely a lie. Just not entirely the truth, either. "This place is a fucking shithole." she adds to help in selling just how little Aite means to her. "Besides, you see what happened..." she continues with a sigh, "...More will come. We can't stay here." Another half-truth. If it wasn't for Yan Sun, Lucas' arrival
would've been little more than a speed bump. Maybe the next bounty hunter would get her. Maybe they wouldn't. It didn't matter before. But, as much as she likes to deny it, Yan Sun's presence changes all that. Too many people she's cared about have been hurt due to her actions.
Yan Sun sighs, expression changing a little. She hadn't meant to bring them back to that conversation, inevitable as it was. Her mind was focused on the destination, not the departure. "I didn't mean-..." she starts, shifting uncomfortably. "There's a lot of planets out there. Lots of places to go that isn't Earth." she says with a small shrug, shifting her legs to fold to the side as she turns more towards Jessica, leaning her side
Jessica as usual, doesn't give much up in the way of how she's really feeling. For better or worse, Lucas was someone who had been in her life for a good portion of it. Despite that, she shows little indication that she's dwelling on what transpired at the dam beyond what it means for their immediate future. "Mmm." she agrees, gaze still fixed to Yan Sun as she rests her head lazily against the wall. "But they are not your home."
she says matter-of-factly. She reaches out with her left hand and places it on Yan Sun's thigh. "So we will go and fuck on a new planet." she continues, giving Yan Sun's leg a playful squeeze as she implies she's planning on keeping a running tally, "And you will show me all of the best places for dancing. Then, when there is nothing more for us there? We will find some place new." She punctuates her statement with a shrug
Yan Sun snickers slightly and nods, quick to accept Jessica assurance despite not really addressing any of the concerns. Perhaps she's just looking to be told that it's okay to want to go back. She leans in for a quick kiss. "Good plan." she says with a small smile, letting her hand rest on Jessica's arm.
Jessica shifts a bit to meet the kiss, folding her legs to her side and mirroring Yan Sun's position. With a snort she lifts an eyebrow, head tilted slightly to rest comfortably against the wall. "Of course it is a good plan. Is my plan." she says, as if the two go hand-in-hand.
Yan Sun snorts quietly, but the smile lingers. "Uh-huh. Right." she says, unconvinced. Her gaze lingers on Jessica's face for a while before drifting to her arm. "How's your arm doing? Is-... doesn't it need to be splinted or something?" Her hand moves to softly run her fingertips along the injured arm.
Jessica glances down at her arm as Yan Sun mentions it. She lifts it slightly, holding it between them as she looks it over idly. "Probably." she says, before adding with a shrug: "Is fine." She rotates her arm slightly, examining the burnt skin that's only broken up by the occasional small speck of bright color from tattoos that were mostly washed away by the fire. "I survive worse." she decides with a snicker.
Yan Sun can't exactly argue with that, and concedes with a brief shift of her eyebrows as she settles back against the wall. "What do you wanna do today? I was-" BLOOP. Jessica's omni-tool.
Jessica lowers her arm, attention shifting to Yan Sun as she begins to speak. The interrupting beep causes her to draw in a breath and give a roll of her good eye. Her gaze remains fixed on Yan Sun for a moment as she seems to contemplate just staying right where she is. "Gah..." she mutters, rolling her head against the wall. With a swivel she swings her legs off of the bed, feet coming in contact with the cold hotel floor, and
moves to collect her omni-tool from the desk. As she scans over the glowing interface she gives a loud groan. "They are calling everyone in to work for a meeting..." she groans, peering over the top of her interface at Yan Sun. With a frown, she shuts down the beat up old device and tosses it haphazardly back onto the desk. It's not hard to figure out why the casing has so many dents and dings in it.
Yan Sun blinks. "Oh... what's going on?" she asks, sitting up straight as she looks to Jessica. "It's not another mission, right?" There's a bit of concern even though logically she knows it'd make no sense to call in Jessica in her current state.
Jessica gives a shake of her head as she meanders back over to the edge of the bed. "Is just a debriefing." she says, Yan Sun's concern not lost on her. It causes a hint of a grin to tug at the corner of her mouth. "Why? You are worried I am going to leave you again? Mmm?" she teases.
Yan Sun seems to relax a little at the elaboration, although the teasing causes her to roll her eyes. "Maybe I was just hoping to have the room to myself again." she fires back, sliding into a lying position and making a point of taking up as much room as she can in the small bed as she stretches and yawns. "So comfy not having to share." she says with a smirk, palms pressing against the wall since there's really not enough room to
Jessica frowns, a roll of her eye implying she's not convinced. "Mmm. Sure." she says, hands on her hips as she stands at the edge of the bed glaring down at Yan Sun's theatrics. "Jessica! Where are you?! I stalk you and talk to your boss and I know that you are back! Please do not ignore me!" she says, giving an exaggerated recounting of the messages Yan Sun sent her just after her
Yan Sun puts on a face at Jessica's impression. "Shut up..." she says, adding "I'm not a stalker..." in an embarrassed mutter, her ability to return Jessica's teasing in kind falling apart pretty quickly.
Jessica's smug grin returns when it becomes clear she's winning. "No, of course you are not! You only meet with one of the people I work with and track me down." she continues to tease, reaching out and grabbing Yan Sun by the ankle to pull her closer to the edge of the bed. "Pleeeeease help me to find Jessica! She is soooo hot and sexy and my life sucks without her around!" she resumes her
Yan Sun keeps her unamused face, giving Jessica's leg a light kick when she's pulled closer to the edge. "You are such an asshole." she says, looking up at the ceiling, but the grin that briefly tugs at the corner of her mouth betrays her.
Jessica brings her left knee up onto the bed outside of Yan Sun's right leg and leans over her. She props herself up by pressing her right hand against the mattress just beside Yan Sun's head. "Mmm." she agrees through her grin, seeming to take Yan Sun's assessment of her more as a badge of honor than an insult. "And you are a fool." she says, leaning further down to press a brief kiss against her lips.
Yan Sun 's attempt at objecting is interrupted by the kiss, which also causes any attempt to hide the forming grin to fail. "Maybe." she concedes, and for a moment she's just smiling in silence as she looks up at Jessica. "I do keep putting up with you." she adds with a sudden shrug, putting on a look of mock thoughtfulness.
Jessica brings her other hand to Yan Sun's waist and gives a playful roll of her eye to her response. "I put up with you!" she protests through her grin, pressing her thumb painfully into Yan Sun's side for emphasis.
Yan Sun squirms, grimacing as she scrambles to shift away from Jessica's thumb. "Gah-ow! Stopitstopitstopit!"
Jessica gives an evil cackle, bringing her other knee up onto the edge of the bed between Yan Sun's legs to keep her pinned in place and drives her thumb in further. "Then you stop being a fuck!" she snaps back, eloquent as ever as she relents on her poking with a grin still plastered across her face.
Yan Sun takes a deep breath as Jessica finally stops, bringing a hand down to her side with a dismayed grimace when her body starts to relax. "You suck." she mutters. Her flailing has managed to trigger the haptic interface of the holo-emitter, and the still-open windows are sliding slowly in a circle now, sputtering out of existence whenever the projections collide with either of them, before coming back to life on the other side.
Jessica snickers to herself and sits up. She lifts her knee, shifting it to the outside of Yan Sun's left side and scooting up a bit so she's straddling her midsection. "Mmmm. Sometimes." she says dismissively, taking Yan Sun's left hand in her right and interlocking their fingers. The coarse skin on the palm of her right hand is a constant reminder of the damage she sustained. "You are going to wait up for me tonight if I am gone
Yan Sun seems content to remain where she is, looking up at Jessica. As her hand is grabbed she looks over at their interlocked fingers, smirking slightly at the question. "Sure..." she says with a snicker, a full smile on her lips when she looks up at her again. She lets her free hand come to rest on Jessica's left leg, thumb brushing idly back and forth across the seam in her sweatpants as she studies her.
Jessica shifts a bit and settles into place on her makeshift seat. She brings her left hand to Yan Sun's stomach, palm flat against it. "Good." she says, smile persisting as she looks down at Yan Sun. "Because I am horny." she adds, unable to keep from ruining an otherwise tender moment.
Yan Sun tilts her head slightly, continuing to study Jessica with a faint, thoughtful smile. By all indications she's entirely fine with her role as Jessica's seat. The sudden comment causes a surprised snort of laughter. "Noted." she says matter-of-factly after a moment's uncertainty over how to respond. Her eyebrows furrow slightly, sucking on part of her lower lip for a moment. "I'm, uh... I'm gonna keep that in mind." she says, a
Jessica gives a soft snicker at Yan Sun's reaction, but otherwise remains in place merely watching her, biting at the tip of her tongue. After a few moments she leans in, eyes briefly closing as she presses a soft kiss to Yan Sun's lips. She lingers for only a moment before sitting back up with a sigh. "I should probably start getting ready." she groans, seeming in no real hurry to get up.
Yan Sun returns the kiss, lifting her head a little when Jessica pulls back, trying and failing to follow her. "Already?" she sighs as she lets her head drop back down against the bed. "Could've given you a bit more notice..." she complains, brushing her left thumb across the coarse skin of Jessica's hand as she turns her head to look at their interlocked hands.
Jessica runs her left hand a little higher up Yan Sun's stomach. She's not going anywhere quick. "Mmm. They are fucks." she agrees. "I am needing to be there by five." Her own gaze turns to their interlocked fingers, studying them as she opens and closes her hands a few times. This isn't exactly where she expected to find herself when she signed up with Redrock. The thought causes a small snicker to escape her.
Yan Sun 's gaze follows Jessica's arm back up to her face. The snicker causes her to raise an eyebrow, curious what's on her mind. "What?" she asks through a faint smile, breaking the momentary silence.
Jessica cocks an eyebrow of her own as she's called out. Never one to look her own feelings in the eye, she dismisses those thoughts and leans forward once again, this time bringing her lips to Yan Sun's ear. "I am just thinking of all of the terrible things I am going to do to you when I get home." she whispers. With a turn of her head she presses a wet kiss against Yan Sun's cheek before sitting back up and dismounting her. She
gives her hand a squeeze then releases her grip. "If you are asleep when I get home I am going to kill you." she threatens nonchalantly as she starts towards the bathroom.