Chapter Twenty: Growing Pains
Layer breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped off the bus; after her stressful time at Cyber Dolls and the situation she'd ended up in upon her departure she was glad to be back in familiar territory. She took a moment to look around and get her bearings before heading away from the bus station and down a side street. She shuddered as she thought back to her interaction with the men and what they likely would have done to her had the Cyber Dolls technician not removed her codes, and she sighed deeply to cool her suddenly-overworked processors. Eventually, she stopped before a familiar store, and after briefly studying the sign above and to the right of the entrance she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The sound of tinkling bells greeted her as she entered the small shop, and her internal thermostat adjusted her temperature to account for the relatively cooler air. "Hello?" she called out. "M-…Miss Ginny?"
"Well, hello!" called a familiar, friendly voice from the back area, bringing a smile to the Reploid's face. "Just a minute, dear; I'll be right out." She emerged a minute later, just as Layer arrived at the back of the showroom. "Sorry about that, dear; I was checking my inventory."
"It's okay, ma'am," Layer replied politely to the older woman.
"Are you here for your new outfit?" Ginny asked, then paused as she noticed that something seemed off about her guest. "Sweetheart, are you okay? You seem…anxious."
"I'm-… I'm okay," she managed as she reflexively remembered the men again.
The seamstress studied her charge a moment longer. "Let's hold off on the outfits for now," she decided as she took the young Reploid by the arm. "Before we take care of the outside, we should take care of the inside."
Layer blinked in surprise but allowed herself to be led to the back of the store. "M-Ma'am?"
Ginny flashed a smile over her shoulder. "That's something that Jax always says. Having new clothes can help us feel good about ourselves, but clothes can't fix hurt feelings." They came to a small wooden table with a pair of chairs, and she encouraged Layer into one of them before claiming the seat on the other side. "Did something happen between you and Zero?"
"No!" Layer exclaimed with an emphatic shake of her head, then paused. "Well, kinda…"
"What happened?" Ginny asked, her expression one of uninhibited interest.
"Well…" Layer told her about her visit to her place of manufacture, her interactions with the technician and, finally, her encounter with the men outside the Maintenance exit. "They thought I was an Escort Model, and…" she trailed off with a fierce blush, shame preventing her from finishing her thought.
"Oh, dear…" Ginny breathed, and she reached out to lay a comforting hand on the younger girl's arm. "That must have been frightening. But you got away safely, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," Layer replied with a hint of a nod. "Zero teleported in and saved me; he even took me to the bus station."
"Oh, good for you," Ginny gushed. "And good for him, too. But how did he know where to find you? He wasn't with you, was he?"
"No, ma'am; like I said, he teleported in, grabbed me, then teleported me to the bus station."
"That's a relief." Ginny sighed. "Well, I'm glad those men weren't able to do anything to you."
"Thank you."
Ginny studied the young woman for a moment longer before coming to a decision. "Let me see if Jax is available; I think you should talk with him before we get you set up with your new clothes."
Layer blinked at the unexpected suggestion. "O-Okay."
After a motherly smile and a pat to the arm, Ginny rose from her seat and headed into the next room. After the sounds of a brief exchange, she came back with her husband close behind. "I'll finish up what alterations I can while you talk," she informed her guest. "I was planning on doing them while you wore them, but some of them I can do now."
O-Okay," Layer repeated as she watched the old professor claim the seat across from her.
"Take it easy on her, Jax," Ginny lightly admonished as she laid a hand on her husband's shoulder. "She had a rough start to her day."
"I know, I know…" Jaxon groused over his shoulder at her. He then sighed with a shake of his head as his wife left the room before turning his attention to the young woman before him. "Before we start, let me make one thing clear: I am not any kind of counselor, which is why I might seem impatient." He blinked. "Well, one of a few reasons. Anyway, being a philosopher helps me understand why people are the way that they are, but it doesn't tell me how to fix 'em." He gestured toward her. "If you're okay with that, then we can talk."
"I'm fine with that," Layer replied with a shy smile. "Thank you for taking the time to talk with me."
He scoffed, though he showed a rare lopsided grin. "We'll see if you're still thanking me when we're done. Anyway, I think I know a bit about your situation, but Ginny just told me that you were assaulted by some young men?"
"Almost," Layer clarified. "But Zero rescued me before they could do anything."
"How'd that happen-Wait, maybe I should hear it from the beginning."
"Yes, sir." Then, like Ginny before him, Layer spoke of her trip to Cyber Dolls, her time with the technician and her resulting discoveries and, finally, her encounter with the men and subsequent rescue. "…they tried using a code that immobilizes my line of Reploid-"
"Which didn't work because the technician had removed the relevant codes," Jaxon interjected, realizing the connection.
"Right," she confirmed with a nod. "And before they could do anything else, Zero teleported in, grabbed me, then teleported me to the bus station."
"Good man," the old professor remarked with an approving nod. "But how did he know where you were? Didn't you say that you'd traveled alone?"
"I did, sir." She blushed lightly. "I don't know how he knew; I asked him about it, but he didn't answer."
Jaxon grimaced. "That seems rude, ignoring a question like that."
"That's just how he is, sir," she replied with a giggle. "He's the quiet type, I guess. He did tell me to be careful, though."
"Well, at least that's something," he grunted. "So, what is it that attracted you to Mr. Stoic?"
She giggled again, this time at the nickname. "I'm not sure; I know that I like how quiet he is; he usually doesn't talk unless someone talks to him first."
Jaxon crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Do you think that it gives him an 'air of mystery'?"
Layer gave herself a moment to think about his question. "I guess… I've wanted to learn more about him for a long time, In fact, Pallette got Axl to…" She trailed off as Pallette's situation came to mind.
"That looks painful."
Layer blinked out of her reverie to find the human studying her face. "S-Sir…?"
He gestured to her. "I couldn't see your eyes, of course, but it looks like you just remembered something painful. Does this… 'Pallette' have something to do with it?"
Layer's eyes fell to the table between them. "Yes sir, but I'm not allowed to talk about it."
"That bad, huh?" Jaxon grunted in what sounded like a sympathetic manner. "I'm sorry to hear it. For what it's worth, I hope that everything turns out okay."
"I think it will," she replied, her gaze meeting his again. "Everybody…had to do some growing, but I think everything'll be okay. Eventually."
"Eventually…" he echoed. "Yeah, life lessons can take a while to learn, and sometimes they can hurt."
"Yes, sir."
He sighed and looked toward the door through which his wife had departed. "Have you seen what she's made for you?"
"Not yet, no; she wanted me to talk to you first."
He fixed his gaze on her again, and something about its intensity caused her to fidget self-consciously. "Are you really comfortable in that getup?" he finally asked. "Maybe it's a generational thing, but I can't imagine any girl from my time wearing something like that."
"It's-…" Layer started, but awkwardness stopped her, albeit momentarily. "I'm what's called an Escort Model, sir; m-my design was originally intended for…well, for comforting men."
His eyebrows jumped. "Really?" It was more of a statement than a question.
Shame drew her gaze back to the tabletop. "I forgot to mention it earlier, but I found that out from the Cyber Dolls technician."
He 'humphed'. "Well, at least that explains the exaggerated anatomy."
"S-Sir?"
He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. "So, I'm curious: If you're supposed to be an…'Escort Model'…" He seemed to spit out the term. "…how did you end up working at…whatever-it's-called?"
"Maverick Hunter Headquarters?" she giggled; as gruff as he appeared, she understood that he was just being genuine. "I'm not sure; all I can remember after my final test at Cyber Dolls is being deactivated and then reactivating at Maverick Hunter HQ."
"At least you avoided that lifestyle," he grunted. "Anyway, sorry; back to Zero." He leaned back and crossed his arms again. "I'll acknowledge that I don't know you very well, but it seems like you two are very similar, at least according to what you've told me about him."
"What do you mean?"
He gestured to her. "You seem like the quiet type, and you've just told me that he's the quiet type as well."
She paused for a moment to process her every interaction with the red-clad warrior. "I hadn't thought of that before, but I think you're right. I mean, I get along with Pallette, and she's…not the quiet type, but I understand that's not the same as living with another person every day for the rest of your life."
"I'm glad to hear you say that," he said with an approving nod. "There are a lot of us humans out there who don't learn that and end up in frustrated marriages."
Layer unconsciously imagined herself in a relationship with Axl and cringed. "That…must be hard."
"It can be," he agreed. "Anyway, the two of you are the quiet types, so if he's okay with that then you have a chance from that standpoint." He leaned back in his chair and briefly pursed his lips before speaking again. "My apologies; I've just realized that we've done all this talking, but I haven't asked a very important question: What were you hoping to accomplish by talking with me?"
Layer swallowed hard. "W-Well, sir; you seem to understand a lot about how people think, so I was hoping that you could help me…think."
"When it comes to Zero, I assume."
"Y-Yes, sir. Well, not exactly." He gestured toward her so she continued. "I've always been shy when it comes to him, but a recent…incident has caused me to realize that my problem may actually be…" Shame briefly stilled her tongue, but she forced it to move again. "It may actually be immaturity."
The older man's eyebrows jumped. "Immaturity? How so?" She flushed molten and he smiled sympathetically. "Well, we can leave that for another time, if necessary. For now…" He unclasped his hands to lean forward. "What is it that you like about this young man? Other than his tendency toward silence, that is."
Layer held back a giggle; strictly speaking, Zero was at least a half-century older than the human before her, but she understood why he'd refer to the hunter as 'young'. "Well… He's strong, he's smart…"
"So is X," Jaxon pointed out. "There must be some difference that draws you to him. Tell you what: Close your eyes and picture him in your mind. What are you drawn to?"
Layer closed her eyes and felt her cheeks heat up as she recalled her most recent memory of her crush. "His… His eyes," she replied. "There's something about them, like he's looking at you but through you."
"An intensity," the philosopher suggested.
"That's it!" she exclaimed, her eyes flying open. "Intense! And it's not just his eyes, it's… It's his whole presence!"
"When he's there, you just know that he's there," Jaxon prompted.
"YES!" Layer yelled, then ducked her head with a blush. "And…when he looks at me, I feel so…so small, so insignificant."
Jaxon gave the blushing Reploid a fatherly smile. "He's a very lucky man, to have someone as sweet and as lovely as yourself pursuing him; I hope things work out well between you two." He gave her a couple of reassuring pats on her hand before reclining in his seat again. "So you like his intensity… And it sounds like you appreciate that he can presumably see through the pretenses of others."
Layer hadn't thought of that either and she admitted as such. "I guess I don't really know a lot about him, do I?"
"That just means that you have some work to do," Jaxon said with a shrug, then spread his hands. "Don't misunderstand; I'm not suggesting that you need to understand everything about him before you can move forward. I just want you to be aware of who you are and where you are right now. Does that make sense?"
"Kind of," she admitted.
"But like I said the other day," he continued, "you need to start thinking in terms of what you have to offer him rather than what you want to get from a relationship with him; understanding yourself will help to that end." He leaned back to cross his arms again. "You need to be solid and confident in who you are; that way, you can go up to Zero and say 'This is who I am; take it or leave it'. And if he leaves it, you're out nothing because you never had him in the first place. You need to be a complete person first before you offer yourself to Zero – or anyone else, for that matter. That way, he knows what he's getting himself into and can make an informed decision. I've seen too many times where either the woman or the man is incomplete, and they try to use the other person to complete themselves; that always ends in disaster." He leaned forward again to rest his arms on the table and smiled across at her. "So, young lady: What do you have to offer him?"
The young Reploid sighed as her eyes lost focus: What did she have to offer him?
"Oh, my," Ginny gasped at the sight of her client. "Sweetheart, you look amazing!"
"Y-You really think so?" Layer squeaked, studying herself in the full-length mirror as she tugged at the collar of her new outfit; it was a business-style suit consisting of a black vest over a white blouse that somehow managed to de-emphasize the shapely Reploid's chest, along with a pencil skirt that covered her to just below the knees. On the whole, the ensemble managed to accentuate her femininity without flaunting it. "I've never worn anything like this before, so…"
"You look absolutely fantastic," the seamstress gushed. "You'll still be turning men's heads, of course, but it'll be for more than just…just…"
"…the car hood," Jaxon chimed in from the adjacent room, drawing an awkward grin from the shapely Reploid.
"Yes, dear," Ginny sighed with a barely perceptible yet exasperated roll of her eyes. "Jax, could I please talk with my client alone for now?"
"Sorry," grunted a genuinely contrite voice; a moment later the door shut.
Ginny sighed again as she returned her attention to her charge. "However crudely said, he's right; I don't know who gave you your outfit, but it's clearly intended to be more…provocative."
"it was Cyber Dolls, but…" Layer trailed off, unsure of how to phrase her next question. "Do…you know why they'd dress me like that? I understand that I was designed to be…but…" She blushed and looked down at the floor.
The older woman took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Men like to look at women's physical beauty; it's hard to explain, but it's like they're hard-wired that way, so when someone as blessed as you are comes along, providing a…a tantalizing view of your…well, yourself, they can't help but notice. It's not a problem if it's your husband seeing you like that, but you've been showing the underside of your breasts to every man in sight ever since you put on that outfit. I'm sorry; I can't think of a more delicate way to phrase it."
"Ii think I understand," Layer replied, her eyes briefly losing focus. "I guess that's why Pallette would tease me about all the male attention I'd get."
"That makes sense," Ginny agreed, "thought I wouldn't rule out a little bit of jealousy, either." She gave her guest a playful nudge and a wink. "We girls can be pretty competitive when it comes to our looks, after all."
"That's true," the younger woman giggled. "I hadn't thought of that." Her expression faded to something more serious. "Mrs. Hurt? Thank you for all your help. I mean, I do plan to come back for more outfits, I just…" She trailed off, unsure of how to finish her thought.
"I understand, dear," Ginny said, drawing the young Reploid into a motherly embrace. "I'm just glad I could help."
Layer tried on several more outfits, and as she changed back into her usual work attire, something about her reflection in the mirror caused her to study her own appearance; the upper armor that allowed men to see the underside of her breasts, the skin-tight bodysuit that highlighted every swell and curve of her lower body… She reflexively tried to cover herself with her hands to no avail. "I've been…enticing men without meaning to…" she murmured. Her thoughts then turned to Alia, whom she realized had started wearing more modest attire after her marriage to Max, dresses and the like. She further realized that her friend had been presenting herself more modestly overall; maybe she could as well? Could that be one thing that she could offer Zero? "Mrs. Hurt, could I wear one of my new outfits now?"
"Of course!" the older woman's cheery voice sounded from the other side of the curtain. "They're yours now; you can wear them whenever you want."
The young woman looked down at the bags containing her new outfits, then eagerly emptied them to decide what she wanted to wear home.