#zerolayer

He'd always had a few friends among the Maverick Hunters, but he wasn't really a people person, and most of his friends had either turned Maverick or left the organization for their own reasons. The one consistent friend he had was X, and they'd had their fair share of clashes - destiny, some claimed, and it certainly explained why Zero had been forced to fight some of his other friends.

Destiny had a lot of explaining to do, though. After all this time of tearing his friends away from him, it had given Zero two lovers… and for the first time that he could remember, he was truly content with his life.

Iris had just gotten a new private room after her restoration, and Zero had come to visit her for the evening. She had taken up a position beside him, occupying herself with brushing his hair - a task he'd had to do himself for far too long.

About halfway through, there was a tentative knock on the door, and Iris stopped and looked at Zero. He smiled back at her, then turned his attention to the door.

"Come on in," he said, still smiling. "You don't need to be shy."

The door opened, revealing Layer on the other side, and she was blushing like mad. Zero laughed and patted the side of the pod he was sitting on, inviting her to join.

"S-sorry…" Layer made her way over after closing the door behind her. "I… I didn't want to look too suspicious…"

Iris giggled. "Everyone knows about our arrangement now. It's like Zero said - there's no need to be shy."

"…If you so insist…" Layer seated herself on Zero's other side. "…Um…"

"Here." Iris offered the hairbrush to Layer. "You can finish brushing his hair."

Layer hesitated for a moment before taking the hairbrush, and she turned to Zero, blushing even deeper. He hummed and nodded in response, then shifted his position to make it easier for her to brush his hair.

So after some chits and chats, we’ve come to the idea that Layer is secretly one of if not the strongest hunter in the crew, but similar to X she has doubts on why mavericks/irregulars hurt others and why violence is the first choice they take. She isn’t naive, she understands that in order to stop the suffering of others that one must sacrifice the one committing the crime in one way or another. But that doesn’t stop her from feeling overwhelmed sometimes. We happily think that she is GA level, her use of more precision like weapons make her accuracy and overall outcomes very deadly and perfect. She’s one of the few to actually get above 90% in the training rooms [the ones you see in Day of Sigma wink wink]. So anyway due to her extensive knowledge of reploid and mechaniloid development she’s able to pinpoint weaknesses and the like, therefore her accuracy and precision are her best qualities. However, due to how overwhelming the hunter missions can be, she decided to primarily be a navigator and use her knowledge in a guiding way. 

Out on the field, Layer is still the calm and reserve lady we all know and love, and she navigates well even in combat. One thing I’ve noticed is that most fans tend to draw her left eye when she speaks as we see such in X8, so I thought a nice visual to her two sides would work through her eyes. When her left eye is visible, she’s happy and relaxed, perhaps shy or bashful and overall soft and sweet. But if her right eye is showing, buddy you have a weapon of mass destruction on your side. Layer we headcanon as one who while as stated doesn’t adore fighting, she finds the movement of battle and disarming of mavericks for the sake of the people to be in some regards exhilarating. If she focuses enough in battle, her energy starts to build up [the cause of her hair poofing up a la her concept art bc I LOVE HER CONCEPT ART AND WILL USE IT SHAMELESSLY DAMMIT] and she becomes more fierce and quick in both her decisions and actions. Still, level-headed but much easier to work off of in terms of split-second decisions. It’s a side of her that she knows isn’t wrong at its core but it’s such a contrast to her regular gentle demeanor that she doesn’t like showing it often, trying to hide it when possible. Both sides are filled with elegance and finesse~

I love the fact that she can use Zero’s weapons in X8 but at the same time, I thought to give her her own set of weapons that while similar in concept is more centered on precision so mav and I decided to go through tons of weapons to match with her. You can see a few sketches already of the replacements, but the rest of the list will be drawn eventually, so no worries. We just thought it would give her something more unique to use and help her stand out against Zero. If you guys have any ideas on other weapons she could potentially use, send me an ask and I’ll sketch it out to see!

Some fanart of the new wallpaper released thanks to the legacy collection, I love her zero straw it’s so cute~ I couldn’t resist! I’ll probably redraw and colour it at some point :3

And in case you couldn’t tell, Zero and Layer is a ship I am CAPTAIN OF! And no that doesn’t mean I don’t ship XZero, that shit is canon to me as far as I’m concerned haha but in all seriousness.... x and zero both have 2 hands Y'all, OT3/4 and polyshipping is all an option and one we both adore to explore. So there’s that! I’ve done xzero fanart but I’ll post that another day 

Also with Axl, I don’t ship them romantically but while drawing I realized how extra his hair is and then I’m like ‘omg... layer and zero also have extra[tm] hair’ and now they’re part of the beautiful and extra hair club. Axl just finds her really pretty and really nice, I imagine the first time he saw her hair go wild he was like YOOOO THAT IS AWESOME HOW YOU DO THAT I WANT THAT and Layer hides her head in the ground bc oH NO ZERO SAW

but he likes the hair :3 so there’s that[trust me I have plenty of scenarios for those 2, you don’t even kNOW]

While not the most skilled combatant around, Layer could certainly hold her own in the field. She worked tirelessly to improve herself, even going as far as to ask Zero for lessons from time to time. As her confidence improved, she made that request less and less, and today, she wanted to show him the fruits of her labor.

With Zero watching, Layer took on a training simulator by herself. She was mesmerizing to watch - it was like a dance of swift and deliberate motions, and when she finished the simulation, the computer displayed a perfect score.

"Awesome." Zero stepped up to Layer, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I knew you could do it."

Layer's face turned a brilliant shade of red. "Th-thank you…"

"You're even more stunning in combat," Zero told her. "Didn't know that was possible." He tugged her into a loose embrace. "You're amazing, Layer."

"Please…" Layer gave a nervous laugh. "You're too kind…"

"Nah." Zero shook his head. "You know me. I say what I mean… always." He gazed at her. "…Still want my help?"

"…If it isn't too much to ask." Layer turned her head away. "I… um…"

"Too much?" Zero asked, letting go of her. "…I got excited…"

Layer was silent for a brief moment, and then she turned back to him, smiling. "No… thank you." She pulled him close. "Thank you… I…"

She blinked, then looked up at the person hugging her - and her breathing stopped at the sight of the beautiful blue eyes of her lover. He had a slight smirk on his face, and he gazed back at her warmly as his hold on her tightened just the slightest bit.

"Sorry for interrupting you, but I couldn't hold myself back," Zero whispered. "You were just too gorgeous."

"Can it wait just a little longer?" Zero inquired, his voice low. "I want you right now..."

Layer's internal temperature went up at his words. "Th-thank you… um…" She reached her hand up, grasping one of his. "You don't need to apologize… I was almost finished."

…Oh.

"Y-yes... yes, it can wait," Layer answered him, and she stood up from her chair. "...I would love to."

His trust was a rare and precious thing, and she was one of only a few people who had earned it. To her, guiding him was a privilege - he always expressed how grateful he was for her aid, and that made it all worth it.

This time, when Zero returned from his mission, he was missing an arm. Layer followed him to the repair bay, and when she got there, he was already being worked on - conscious, likely at his request.

…He really was troublesome.

"Please..." Layer stared at Zero. "Don't be so..."

Zero blinked back at her, then looked away. "...Yeah, sorry about that. Old habits die hard..."

"I don't want to lose you..." Layer recalled what she'd learned of Zero's past. "...There's no guarantee that you'd return again..."

"I know..." Zero hung his head. "...Man, haven't felt like this in a long time... I haven't been scolded like that by anyone since..."

"...Since Iris." Layer finished his sentence for him, and then she heated up. "Um, sorry, I-"

"Don't worry about it." Zero managed a small smile. "...Thanks for looking out for me. This could've been a lot worse than it was..."

"Oh... um..." Layer's internal temperature spiked further. "Th-thank you... I-I mean..."

Zero laughed. "You're cute when you're flustered." He reached out to her with his good arm. "...Stay for a while?"

"...I'll try not to get in the way." Layer hummed and nodded, then grasped his hand with her own. "I..."

The words lingered at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get them out. Zero gave her a warm smile as he twined his fingers with hers, and he took a short breath as he looked at her with unusually gentle eyes.