Vasquez ' face remains buried against Jason's shoulder for a while, just enjoying the moment. When she pulls back it's with a relieved breath that turns into a giddy laugh, rare, genuine, unadulterated excitement on her face as she jostles him a little. She leans in for a quick kiss, gaze falling away from Jason afterwards. "Was worried you wouldn't like it." she admits through an embarrassed chuckle. "I know we just started
#FreedomFalls – April 21, 2021
talking about moving, but when I saw this place I just-..." she goes quiet, turning slightly the side as her gaze scans across the clearing. Her right arm remains wrapped around Jason, but her left has fallen to her side. She shakes her head a little and draws in a breath, blinking again against the wetness in her eyes, not willing to let it escape. "...I knew this was it. I could see it, right away."
Jason's smile grows as laughter spills out of Vasquez, an equally genuine response that slips into a snicker as she slips out of his grasp. He brings his right hand to the edge of the truck's hood and lifts his right boot to rest against the front bumper, left arm still draped idly around Vasquez' waist. Her words once more soften his smile and he follows her gaze out towards the clearing. It's certainly beautiful. But, more
importantly, it's a fresh slate. A chance to start the next chapter of their lives off right. Together. As she finishes speaking, he dismisses her concerns with a small shake of his head, looking as if he's already envisioning what might one day be here. "...It's perfect." he admits quietly.
Vasquez joins Jason in leaning against the truck as she jerks her left elbow slightly to make the sleeve of her coat pull back enough to reveal her omni-tool. "Yeah..." she agrees in little more than a whisper, before adding, more loudly: "Good thing you agree, or I'd have wasted a lot of time." A flick of her wrist activates the palm-interface of her omni-tool and she types for a bit before a large, semi-transparent holo-screen
flickers to life ahead of them. It's an AR-viewport, not a standard window, and when looking through it it projects a simple, orange 3D representation of a house onto the clearing ahead. The digital building is two stories, with large windows and solar panels mounted on the angled roof. The front door faces the road they arrived from. "It's... just an early draft. Something I whipped up with a VI-assisted program. But...
Jason gains a curious look as Vasquez raises her arm and stands up a bit straighter, craning his neck to get a look through the viewport. Once he realizes what he's looking at, his lips part, but nothing immediately comes out. He glances from the viewport to the clearing, peering overtop the holographic interface as if comparing. A surprised chuckle escapes and he shoots a look Vasquez' way when she speaks up again, brows furrowed
and that dumb, familiar lopsided grin suddenly plastered across his face. "You did this...?" he asks. "Linda, this is-..." he begins, bringing his right hand up to gently grip her wrist, adjusting it so he can have a better view of the house. His blue eyes scan back and forth across the digital building before offering his assessment with something of a flabbergasted shake of his head, "...this is incredible."
Vasquez ' smile returns in full force, nodding in confirmation. "It's just a starting point. Still needs a lot of work. We'll tweak it, flesh it out together. Run it by a professional and get it turned into a proper blueprint. But I wanted to have an idea of what we could do." she elaborates, glancing Jason's way before pushing away from the truck, and his grasp. "Walk with me?"
Jason gives a few nods as Vasquez speaks, continuing to study the viewport until she steps away. As he falls in line behind her, he tucks one hand into his pocket. Another old habit that lacks any real utility these days. "It's a helluva starting point." he snickers, as if to imply she's downplaying it. He still sounds a bit caught off guard and finds himself studying the clearing while he follows behind Vasquez. But that
surprise quickly turns to excitement as he takes a couple of quicker steps to catch up to her, "So how many rooms are we thinking?" he asks, grin audible in his voice. "And what exactly is ours?" he adds, shooting another glance out towards the clearing. He had initially assumed the marker rods marked off their 'property', but now it's unclear whether that's the case or if they're here to assist with the AR interface.
Vasquez walks slowly, sticking close to Jason so they can both look through the AR display. "Those markers outline the property." she says with a gesture towards the sticks with the red lights, confirming his initial assumption. "As for the house... like I said, this is just an early draft, but... living room, kitchen/dining room, laundry, home office, home gym, basement storage and armory/workshop, three bathrooms, one master
bedroom, three... guest rooms." Her words stumble slightly, and there's a brief pause as they walk through the snow. The house on the display remains fixed - maybe it uses the markers as Jason speculated, or maybe it has some other way of maintaining spacial awareness? "Still working out some of the what-goes-where, and nothing's set in stone without your input." she adds, quickly moving on, glancing Jason's way afterwards.
Jason splits his attention between the display and his surroundings as he follows Vasquez, snow crunching underfoot. He offers a few nods as she speaks, the home gym garnering a deeper nod as she pre-empts a bit of input that he had already loaded up. His smile briefly grows at the mention of 'guest rooms'. "We thinking garage?" he asks, shooting her a quick glance. "Would be nice to have somewhere to park in the winter so we don't
have to deal with the snow every morning." he adds idly, reaching up to adjust the collar of his jacket.
Vasquez nods in confirmation. "Yeah, definitely. Just not sure if it should be separate..." she shifts the screen a bit, aiming it in front of them instead of at the center of the clearing, revealing a standalone garage. "...or part of the house." she swipes a finger across the screen and the garage disappears, leaving behind a smaller toolshed. She then shifts the screen back to where the house is, showing the garage against one
Jason turns his focus back to the interface, shooting a quick glance about first to make sure he's not about to trip over a rock. His brows pinch together and, after a moment, he lets out a chuckle. "Well, shit. You thought of everything, huh...?" he muses in amusement through that dumb smirk of his as his attention shifts back to Vasquez' face. He gives a small dip of his head to indicate the display- and the current option she
has brought up- prying his gaze off of her to look back at it. "My vote is on connected. Unless, of course, you're looking forward to stomping through knee high snow every morning to head into the office." he teases. Despite how overwhelming it might be, he can't help the excitement that bubbles up in his chest, and it's clear as day in his voice.
Vasquez looks a little embarrassed as it becomes obvious that she's spent quite a bit of time on this in the last few days, gaze remaining fixed on the display as Jason looks at her. "You're probably right." she concedes in response to his input, casting a glance out at the snow that covers the clearing. Aite's weather definitely makes a good argument for being able to get to the car without stepping outside. Her attention returns
to the digital house, smile unable to stay off her lips for long, and she wraps an arm around Jason in a sidehug, taking a moment to lean a little against him before they continue circling the clearing, getting closer to the ice.
Jason snickers as Vasquez agrees with him, giving a small, non-chalant tilt of his head and rise of his shoulders. "I usually am." he agrees matter-of-factly with a bit of exaggerated confidence. He brings an arm around her shoulder as she leans against him. He doesn't seem quite ready to let her go when she resumes leading the way, causing him to fall in step behind her, arm slipping across her collarbone. His other arm snakes
around her midsection as he playfully hugs her from behind with a snicker, no doubt making walking more awkward and forcing a slow shuffle as he examines the AR display from over her shoulder, lips pressed against the collar of her jacket.
Vasquez lets out a sigh that's equal parts amusement and exasperation as Jason makes their walk difficult. "Gonna be here all day if you keep that up." she says, although it doesn't sound as much like a complaint as it should, and after a few more steps she stops and leans back against him, right hand reaching up to rest against his left arm. "Take a look at this." she instructs, aiming the viewport at the shoreline. A small pier
appears, going out into the creek. "The Foundation says water's safe once it gets warmer - no dangerous wildlife or pollutants this side of the falls. Shouldn't go to close to the dam, obviously, but the creek is fine for swimming." It's pretty obvious from her tone of voice that she's happy about this - excited even. Living near the water was always on her list back when her life was all dust and sealed environments.
Jason just deepens his hug, arms slipping a little further around Vasquez when she protests. "That's fine with me." he says, grin still audible in his voice. Once she settles back against him and draws his attention back to the display, he tilts his head down a bit to get a better look. He snickers as he spots the pier, the movement it causes in his chest felt by Vasquez. "It's like a little slice of home." he comments, thoughts
momentarily taken to the beaches back home. Unfortunately, their time on Earth together didn't exactly afford them the opportunity to appreciate the warm, sandy beaches of California. He draws in a deep breath to dispel those thoughts, tilting his head slightly to press a lazy kiss against her hat. "It's-... beautiful." he settles on, taking in the view.
Vasquez snickers quietly, relaxing a little in Jason's arms - they're not in any rush. Not today. "It is." she agrees, omni-tool arm lowering temporarily as she just looks out across the lake, and the mountains beyond. "Wouldn't be so bad to wake up to this instead of the Redrock parking lot." She lingers for a moment before drawing a deep breath and slipping away once again, right hand grasping Jason's and tugging him along - they
might have time, but she wants to show everything, dammit! "And speaking of the view..."She stops once they're a bit closer and directs Jason's attention towards the spot where the spectral house was before once again bringing up her omni-tool, revealing a deck facing the lake and some rudimentary depictions of outdoor seating. "Would be a waste not to have somewhere to enjoy it, right?" she asks, flashing Jason a smile and
watching his face. The excitement that energizes her feels almost foreign even to herself - she's not used to feeling that way about the future, about her life, or to making this kind of investment in her own happiness, in both their happiness, but it feels right - that's why they came here in the first place, wasn't it? To finally live their lives, together, on their own terms.
Jason settles in for the moment, giving Vasquez a little squeeze from behind as he continues to study the view. It's almost unreal. To think that this is where their paths have led them. For so long it's just been about survival. About lowering his shoulder and forcing his way through whatever hell came his way. It's been about worrying about the 'now' because 'tomorrow' was never guaranteed. They're given up so much. Lost so
much. But here they are. Making plans. Discussing the future. Building a life together. A real life. He swallows, urging back the emotion that begins to well up, and offers a distant nod against her when she comments on waking up to it, forcing a small snort. "Yeah..." he agrees quietly. He doesn't protest this time when she slips away, allowing himself to be tugged along. He looks over the deck for a few moments, that
lopsided smirk still present as he does. No less sincere, but there's a weight to it. "Mmhmm." he agrees with a small nod, his attention shifting from the interface and turning to Vasquez, a slight glassiness to his blue eyes as he studies her.
Vasquez ' attention turns to Jason when she feels his eyes on her, her smile softening. She sucks in her lips and for a moment her gaze falls away with a faint chuckle, laced with emotion. She lets the omni-tool interface fade away, peeling one of her gloves off and reaching up to run a hand over Jason's cheek as she looks back to him. She studies the look on his face, and for a moment she looks like she's going to say something,
Jason's smirk briefly grows when Vasquez looks back to him and he brings a hand up, placing it over hers and tilting his head to press a quick kiss against her palm. His other hand moves to her side and he's quick to tilt his head down to meet her lips, eyes slipping closed. When the kiss breaks, a little bit of that weight seems to be lifted from his smile, but the emotion is still clear behind his eyes and, for a moment, he
Vasquez ' hand slides down to Jason's neck, thumb stroking idly along his jaw as she studies the look on his face, no shortage of emotion behind her own smile. She swallows and glances off towards the non-existant deck she just showed, gone without AR overlay. "Maybe eventually... we can afford to add a hot tub. What do you think?" she suggests, smile turning playful as her attention returns to Jason.